By Nneka Nwogwugwu
Pastoralists in Kenya’s Kajiado County have been urged to embrace the use of biogas for cooking and lighting in order to reduce over-reliance on wood fuel.
According to Joseph Osoi, a resident of Esokota village in Kajiado Central, the use of bio gas is economical and environmental friendly.
Osoi revealed that since he started using biogas for cooking and lighting in his house, he has managed to save time spent on looking for firewood and money spent on buying charcoal and kerosene.
He revealed that he installed the bio gas digester which uses cow-dung four years ago and with a herd of around 100 cattle, cow dung is readily available.
Osoi urged all pastoralists to embrace the use of bio gas in their homes so as to save money and conserve the environment.
“Bio-gas is a renewable source of energy that cannot be depleted. I have managed to save a lot of money since I installed the plant. We use it for cooking thus I do not spend any money on firewood or gas. All pastoralists should embrace the use of bio gas as it is very economical” he said.
He added that the technology used to produce biogas is relatively cheap, easy to set up.
A mixture of water and cow dung is added to the digester where bacteria causes it to ferment and produce biogas. The gas is then fed directly to the house where it is used for cooking and lighting.
The bio slurry that flows out of the digester is used as manure thus nothing goes to waste.
According to Osoi’s wife Josephine, since the bio-gas plant was installed in her home, she has managed to save a lot of time spent walking three kilometers daily to the forest in search of firewood.
According to National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA), County Director, Joseph Kopejo, bio gas is a key contributor to environmental conservation. It is cheap and eco- friendly and is a clean cooking technology as it uses animal waste to produce energy.
Kopejo revealed that bio gas use is one of the best ways of taming air pollution and reducing deforestation as it replaces the use of charcoal and firewood.
“We encourage the use of bio gas in rural households where there is no electricity as it helps in environmental conservation by reducing the use of firewood and charcoal for cooking.” he said.
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