It’s been four years since Bisandevi Chaudhary, of Charra Dakshinpurwa in Bhajani Municipaity-7, hasn’t used firewood to cook food. Her family don’t use firewood at home except to keep warm during winter.
Bisan Devi, who earlier relied on firewood fuel for cooking, has been using biogas since 2014. “I don’t need to go to forest to collect firewood anymore,” said Bisan Devi, who owns five cattle—cows and oxen. “The installation of biogas plant has been helpful not only for cooking but also for answering the call of nature. Earlier, we had no choice but to go to nearby forest, roadside and river banks for defecation,” she added.
However, the use of toilet feces and cow dung in biogas has made life easier, said Bisan Devi.
“We’ve finally been able to rid ourselves of the agony of blowing the fire and coping with eye irritation due to smoke. Now all we have to do is lit up the biogas stove. Then the food will be cooked,” she said.
Rampati Devi Chaudhary, of Charra Dakshinpurwa, has not used firewood for cooking ever since she built a biogas plant at her house in 2006. “Women doing household chores have been liberated from smoke after biogas plants were built across the village. We got rid of the obligation to go search for woods early in the morning. We’ve been able to same time,” she said. The organic fertilizer from biogas plant is said to be highly beneficial for agriculture.
Mira Chaudhary, of Charra Dakshinpurwa, say the life has been easy after building the toilets and biogas. “It is lot easier to cook food with biogas. The village has cleaner after the toilets were built. People don’t need to go near river, forest and roadside for defecation,” she said.
Most of the households of Charra Dakshinpura have biogas plants. They are completely reliant on it for the past one decade. It’s been a long time since the Alternative Energy Centre has started nationwide campaign to build biogas plan by providing financial aid. The village was declared as model biogas village in 2008.
According to local leader Khushiram Chaudhary, the campaign to build biogas plant was started in 2004 from the residence of one local Maniram Chaudhary when there were no toilets in the village and the project was completed within the next three years. Khushiram vividly recalls how the village was declared as model biogas village after the installation of biogas in all 21 houses of the village by 2008.
By now the number of households has reached 39 in the village and the campaign to build biogas plant is still continuing. According to Khushiram, the biogas plants were built the village under the leadership of community forest coordination committee Bhajani and Terai Geothermal Program (TAL). But these days the people are building biogas plants with personal investment.
Khushiram had also built biogas in 2008. Then it cost around Rs 35,000 to Rs 40,000 for a biogas for a biogas plant. TAL provided all necessary equipment and extended a loan of Rs 12,000 for stones, pebbles and sand.
“The environment of our village has become clean from the kitchen. It has also been helpful in the conservation of forest,” says Anjani Community Forest Chairman Gangaram Chaudhary. Once Charra Dakshinpurwa village was dependent on Anjani Community Forest spread to 95.5 hectare of land. The villages fulfill the need for all forest products such as grass, and firewood, from the forest.
Chaudhary says the demand for firewood is negligible now. “I myself would go to the forest for firewood earlier. But now there is no problem for firewood after building the biogas,” says Chaudhary.
Member of Community Forest Coordination Committee Bhajani, Antaram Chaudhary says the campaign of building improved traditional stove, and biogas has played a vital role in conserving the forest. “Improved stove consumes less wood and biogas doesn’t need firewood,” he said. “The slump in demand for firewood has helped in conserving the forest.”
