| Title of Best Practice | Pilot Project for the Installation of Domestic Biogas Plants |
| City/Town | Bamako |
| Country | Mali |
| Source | www.undp.org/download/SGP_Mali.pdf |
Background
In Mali, more than 90% of household and small industry energy needs are met with wood and charcoal resulting in the over-exploitation of wood resources in the country’s urban and peri-urban regions. Urbanization has drastically increased the population of the capital, Bamako placing a huge strain on wood resources. The accompanying loss of vegetation cover has led to further desertification in a country where desert cover is approximately one-third of the total land mass.
Bamako’s peri-urban area is made up of small-scale farming households who rely on traditional biomass sources mainly firewood for cooking and heating purposes. Women and children spend a lot of their time gathering firewood and are the most exposed to the adverse effects associated with the resultant indoor air pollution. The objective of the project was to reduce reliance on firewood and to improve the health of women and children by reducing their exposure to harmful indoor air pollution. Mali Folkecentre Nyetaa a local NGO carried out the installation of the biogas plants with funding from the Small Grants Programme (SGP).
Process and Innovation
The Pilot Project for the Installation of Domestic Biogas started in 2000 with a feasibility study conducted to understand the local conditions. Five farms consisting of households that were large enough to consume significant amounts of wood or charcoal and with enough cows (at least 20) to produce sufficient feedstock for anaerobic digestion were selected for the installation of biogas demonstration plants. In addition to contributing towards labour and material costs, the farmers participating in the project undertook to serve as future promoters of biogas technology. The five floating drum metal drum bio-digester systems installed each produced 2.5m3 of biogas per day with an input of 100 kg of cow dung. The energy produced corresponded to an average of 40% of the farms’ consumption. A sixth bio-digester was installed at a nearby educational institute and serves as a biogas demonstration site for teaching purposes.
The project illustrated the importance of adapting technology to local conditions to ensure that it works in the local setting. This was hugely important because, prior to this project, biogas initiatives in Mali could not be sustained because the materials used were not locally available and were not adaptable to local conditions. This project made a specific effort to address both of these problems and met with greater success as a result. Another project innovation involved the incorporation of awareness-raising measures to help improve access to information about biogas technology. The awareness raising was conducted through seminars to which public officials, development agencies and other stakeholders were invited and the development of project publicity material including brochures, posters and radio and television messages aimed at educating the public on the technology and the economic, health and environmental advantages that result from its use as a substitute for fossil fuels and traditional biomass.
Outcome of the Best Practice
The biogas installations offered a reliable solution to land degradation caused by an over-reliance on wood for fuel by converting livestock waste into a useful energy source while producing high quality fertilizer as a by-product. Local forests and vegetation were under less pressure as a result of the decreased use of firewood. The project helped improve health conditions of women and children who were the ones most exposed to the indoor air pollution associated with the use of traditional biomass fuels. Women and children also spent less time and effort collecting firewood meaning that they were able use their time more productively.
The project helped remove technical barriers to biogas use by involving community members in the development of a new version of biogas digester unit that was adapted to local conditions. It helped train a new generation of biogas technicians who became newly aware of biogas technology and its benefits in efforts to combat deforestation. Bamako municipal officials also became aware of the project and its activities and gave it their support. This meant that they were more likely to support the initiatives and policy measures necessary to accelerate uptake of biogas technology.
Sustainability
For the beneficiaries of the pilot project, the installation of the household biogas systems has eliminated the reliance on firewood and charcoal as the primary source of energy for cooking. Other factors that make the project sustainable were the exclusive use of locally available materials in the construction of the digesters and the incorporation of local conditions into the design of the digesters. The project also integrated capacity development for local farmers and their participation from the beginning in construction and design of the systems prepared them for their role in promoting the uptake of biogas technology in their respective areas.
Lessons Learned
The use of biogas digesters improves living conditions of households. People in the project region who benefited from the pilot project, particularly women, previously spent a significant amount of their time on wood gathering. Other lessons include the fact that the lack of a strategy to finance biogas projects and the absence of credit lines for farmers and other types of householders are significant factors that hamper uptake of biogas technology. Training local community members in the design, installation, operation and maintenance of biogas systems can serve to remove existing technical barriers to the use of renewable energy technologies.
Best Practice Transferability
The project kick-started the use of biogas plants in the urban and peri-urban areas around Bamako. Between 2004 and 2006, SGP funded other biogas projects in 4 other areas. 20 more digesters were installed with a total of 60 people benefiting from training on biogas design, installation, operation and maintenance.
