Recycled Manure

by Paul Vliem (Uganda)
Today we had the blessing of visiting a man named John in a village outside of Nairobi called Gathitika. John is an accountant by trade, with an interest both in business and preserving the environment. From his hillside home, he can look over the sweeping valley and mountains in the distance and see the deforestation that happens as the years go. As a way to combat this trend, and to invest in a little business, he has built a methane biogas generator, and it is for this reason that we came to meet.For the last couple months I have been working with my coworker, Dale Christy, on plans for a bio-gas generator to implement in Lira. A bio-gas generator harnesses methane gas that comes from manure and directs it for use in daily tasks, like cooking or lighting at night. Most of the community in Uganda, as well as in Kenya, still use charcoal and wood to do their cooking, resulting in a quickly depleting forest over the whole region. Bio-gas generators are one way of combating this trend. When I heard through Partners Worldwide (an affiliate of CRWRC), that there was a man working on one in Nairobi, using a loan from a Partners Worldwide organization, I was happy to go and check it out.
John is building a generator that should be able to supply his home as well as the surrounding 20 homes with enough gas for cooking each day. In return for the gas he will charge a small fee as part of this income-generating activity. The hope is that his neighbors will see the benefit of paying for this gas over the hours they spend each day looking for and gathering firewood. I was amazed at his initiative and creativity in bringing his interests together in a way that sustains his family, his community, and his environment.

This post is an excerpt from the blog of Paul and Joy Vliem, serving with CRWRC in Uganda. To read more, follow their stories at Word and Meditations.