The Sunday News
Leonard Ncube, Sunday News Reporter
THE era of women and girls walking long distances, or men and boys using scotch-carts to carry firewood is slowly coming to an end in Chidobe outside Victoria Falls, following introduction of the smart renewable biogas digester concept.
Wild Horizons, a leading tour operator, came up with the idea working with development partners and has piloted four projects, starting with traditional leaders in Chidobe ward, Hwange Rural District Council.
Work is underway to cascade the project down to villagers, where women and girls have over the years been walking long distances in search of firewood and water and sometimes encountering human-wildlife conflict and sexual abuse in the bush.
Once fully rolled out, the concept will save forests, as it will significantly reduce cutting down of trees for energy while also giving families enough time to focus on other activities.
A biogas digester is a concept of making low pressure methane gas energy, by decomposing cow dung and biodegradable kitchen waste.
The raw gas, different from the LP gas that people are used to, is processed and used for cooking.
The particular digesters installed at headman, Mr Skinner Ndlovu, acting headman Mr Carlos Ncube, headman Mr Jaheliduna Mpisi Ndlovu and village head Mr Reuben Ndebele are eight cubic metre facilities, with capacity to produce low pressure gas for use for about six hours a day and able to sustain a family of seven people.
According to an expert, Mr Marshal Takundwa, the technical manager at Lanforce Energy, which is providing technical support, the concept is safe as the process ensures the dangerous impurities such as hydrogen sulfide is eliminated through filter, made of steel mash that is replaceable fortnightly.
Currently, the gas cannot be filled into the ordinary gas tanks, as studies are still being done but it can be kept in storage bags.
To come up with a single biogas digester requires about US$1 500 and the four pilot projects cost a combined US$10 000 including training and maintenance among other things.
Some locals have been trained and will cascade the knowledge to other villagers on usage and maintenance of the biogas digesters.
An event to launch the project was held at Headman Skinner Ndlovu’s homestead yesterday, after which other villagers would start benefitting.
Wild Horizons marketing manage, Mr Tichaona Tandi said the company partnered with some of their clients and inscribed Africa to install four cutting edge biogas digesters, thereby embracing innovative technology and aligning with Government’s green policy towards fulfilment of Sustainable Development Goal 13 on climate action.
“The installation of three biogas digesters by Barbara and Dennis Blue alongside an additional unit by Africa Inscribed, represents a significant leap towards commitment to harnessing renewable energy sources.
These biogas digesters are beacons of change and directly reduces deforestation and curbs the global warming crisis that threatens our plants. By integrating these biogas digesters into our community, we are not just adhering to national guidelines but we are setting a standard and that it is possible to achieve economic development while preserving our environment,” he said.
Mr Ndlovu said he was excited to have such a project start at his homestead.
“On a daily basis we add three buckets of cow dung and six buckets of water and it digests to give us gas for cooking and manure as a by-product.
The family is now able to cook in a short space of time. It is very efficient and we are happy that there will be no cutting down of trees for firewood. This is a donation by Wild Horizons, they started with me the headman and are moving to other traditional leaders as they cascade to the community.
They will also target people with chronic diseases, elderly and vulnerable, so that they are given safety nets.
This means that even in the family we are now able to do other things that we could not do well because of limited time as our wives spent time looking for firewood and cooking,” he said.
His wife Mrs Christine Vusile Ndlovu demonstrated how to use the biogas stove and expressed gratitude to be able to use a safe and efficient smart energy source.
Village head, Mrs Sara Ncube from Chisuma said life has been made easier for her.
“We no longer have to wake up very early to go and fetch firewood to prepare for our children to go to school, as we can easily use gas. We are grateful to the people who brought this project,” she said.
Headman Ndebele’s wife said as an elderly woman of 78 years, she had been struggling to fetch firewood for her family.
“With this concept, our lives have been uplifted. I am asthmatic, which needs me to drink warm water in the morning and with this, me and my husband we will be safe in terms of our health,” she said.
Mrs Delight Munkuli from Monde who is one of the women that were cooking at the event said women are the biggest beneficiaries of the concept.
“Life has not been good in the rural areas using firewood to cook under scorching heat of very high temperatures. We were surviving on picking twigs near our homesteads or walk long distances to look for firewood.
As we speak today I was stung by scorpion picking firewood here and you can see how happy we are to have this biogas concept. So this will improve lives for elderly and vulnerable people who struggle to fetch firewood,” she said.
Acting Chief Mvuthu Mr Bishop Matata Sibanda said renewable energy will help protect forest.
“We welcome such a project as it will change people lives from walking long distances to using smart energy at home,” he said. – @ncubeleon
