Biogas project in Cambodia

This offset project invests in making biogas installations available in Cambodia, aiming to increase rural people’s access to a sustainable supply of clean energy. The initiative was established by Cambodia’s National Biodigester Programme, which is a collaboration between the local department of Forestries and Fisheries and SNV The Netherlands.

Background

Many Cambodians in rural areas don’t have access to modern energy sources such as gas and electricity. They are therefore forced to prepare their meals on open wood fires. This is bad for people’s health, expensive, time-consuming, and harmful to the environment. Having a biogas installation can be a solution. A typical biogas installation requires about two cows to produce enough gas for lighting and cooking.

Biogasproject Cambodja
Biogasproject Cambodja
Biogasproject Cambodja
Biogasproject Cambodja
Biogasproject Cambodja
Biogasproject Cambodja
Biogasproject Cambodja
Biogas

The project

This project makes biogas installations accessible to rural households in Cambodia. The systems are installed on the recipient’s land by local builders. Cow dung is collected in the installation, which digests it and turns it into biogas. After being piped into people’s homes, it can be used for cooking and lighting. The remaining bio-slurry serves as an organic fertiliser. A number of families have connected special biogas toilets to their systems, turning human waste into more gas.

Collaboration

The Hivos Foundation in collaboration with SNV the Netherlands has introduced biogas installations across Cambodia with The National Biodigester Programme (NBP). Climate Neutral Group is working together with Hivos in terms of the technical know-how and expertise to increase the number of deployed biogas installations. We are doing this by investing in the project through the purchase of carbon credits.

Local entrepreneurs are trained to build and maintain the biogas installations. We develop sustainable energy markets that ensure more and more low-income people and businesses at the Base of the Pyramid are gaining access to such solutions. The project carries a Gold Standard certification.

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Climate and environment

A biogas installation makes wood and charcoal for cooking and lighting obsolete. This:

  • Improves the quality of indoor air and living conditions.
  • Boosts the region’s biodiversity. The bio-slurry is much better for the soil than artificial fertiliser.
  • Fights deforestation.
  • Combats climate change because it reduces the emission of CO2 and methane in the atmosphere. The latter greenhouse gas is about 28 times more potent than CO2.

Social and economic

  • Biogas improves the living conditions of women. Thanks to these digesters, women and children spend considerably less time on collecting firewood, leaving them with more time to spend with their families, find unemployment and socialise
  • Provides lighting at night and therefore lengthens people’s days, contributing to better living conditions
  • Creates jobs
  • Increases local agricultural production due to the fertile bio-slurry

Health

  • The use of biogas reduces the global number of deaths per year (currently estimated at 4 million) associated with indoor air pollution due to open fire cooking
  • Fewer neck and back problems associated with carrying firewood and charcoal
  • Better hygiene because of biogas toilets