SKG Sangha (SKG S) is a non-profit organisation that supplies biogas plants to households in rural areas of South India. The ‘Deenbandu’ design plants are built on-site by local masons and labourers trained by SKGS, with very high quality standards. Plants produce biogas by digesting cow dung, replacing all the fuelwood used for cooking. Using biogas saves a woman two or three hours per day from collecting wood and cooking. The avoidance of wood smoke is a huge benefit to health and welfare, with decreased incidence of respiratory and eye problems, and kitchens and cooking equipment are cleaner. Children benefit from better food, and more time and money can be spent on education. Each plant saves about 4 tonnes/year of CO2 by replacing use of unsustainable wood. The plants installed by SKGS to date benefit over 210,000 people in 43,000 households.

The output residue from a biogas plant can be used directly on nearby land as a fertiliser. SKGS has enabled biogas owners to produce a better quality and saleable fertiliser from the residue, by including vermicomposting units with biogas plants. Using these units, women make compost from biogas residue and fibrous organic material, which is then re-digested by earthworms. The resultant vermicompost improves the quality of family crops (such as rice, ragi, coconuts and vegetables), and the liquid output from the vermicomposting unit can be used to suppress insect pests. Women can earn about Rs 12,000 per year from selling about half the vermicompost that they produce, which nearly doubles the family income. There is growing demand for such organic fertiliser in India.

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The Ashden Awards for Sustainable Energy