Case Study 5: Sri Lankan Biogas Schemes

With fuel wood becoming increasingly expensive and also scarce in some parts of Sri Lanka, there is a need to look for alternative cooking fuel. Cow manure and biogas technology provides a free, sustainable source of power all year round - and a better income for farmers.

On-farm biogas plants collect cow dung from specially adapted cattle sheds, mix it with water and channel it into fermentation pits. The resulting gas is collected in a simple storage tank from where it is piped directly into the farmer's home to provide energy for cooking, laundry and lighting.

The project has involved the introduction of over 60 new biogas schemes, meeting 75 per cent of household cooking needs. Incomes have risen as women and girls are freed from up to two and a half hours a day of domestic labour (fuel collection, cleaning smoke-blackened utensils and disposing of animal waste), using the time instead for new income generating activities. This clean cooking fuel also overcomes the problem of indoor air pollution, see Bangladesh Cook Stove Project.

GHG emission savings are created as the biogas displaces other more carbon intensive fuels. The project creates emission savings that go beyond what would have been created in a business-as-usual scenario as it is financed primarily by charitable donations. Income derived from the sale of the offsets created by this project will be used by our Project Partner, Practical Action, to finance other activities that improve the standard of living of the World's poor.