Present situation

In rural areas the energy needs for cooking is mainly met by using firewood which leads to health diseases due to the strong indoor smoke pollution, and environmental problems (deforestation).

What is Biogas technology?

Biogas is a simple technology which produces gas for cooking using a mixture of animal drops and water. An underground air free tank (digester) is fed with this mixture and, through an anaerobic fermentation process, it produces a combustible gas, mainly made of methane, called Biogas. Moreover, the fermented material (slurry), coming out in a second smaller tank, can be easily collected and used as fertilizer. Biogas is therefore an appropriate alternative to meet energy cooking needs in rural context.

Best Ray Strategy

To develop this technology Best Ray collaborates with a local organization, CAMARTEC, which implements the Tanzania Domestic Biogas Program, focused on dissemination of small domestic biogas plants in Tanzania.

It has been found that biogas plants are not effective in public institutions, mainly due to lake of commitment on the installation management and lack of water availability. Whereas they are very successful in domestic contexts where the sustainability is guaranteed.

In the area where Best Ray is active 4 local technicians have been trained on the basics of Biogas technology and implementation and they are now successfully installing plants in the community households.

The Community Energy Resources Centers now provide access to Biogas services for the community: people visiting the CERC are assisted by expert technicians to have information about this technology and to choose appropriate plants for their needs. They can also have access to the financial incentives provided by Camartec and Best Ray. At august 2010 15 Biogas plants have been installed in the two wards.