Kenya Biogas Programme

2. ZERO HUNGER

3. GOOD HEALTH

5. GENDER EQUALITY

7. AFFORDABLE CLEAN ENERGY

8. WORK + ECONOMIC GROWTH

13. CLIMATE ACTION

Domestic biodigesters provide a way for households with livestock to reduce their dependence on polluting firewood and expensive fossil fuels. Cooking on biogas is fast and smokeless, improving family health, especially among women and children. Leftover slurry from the biogas process is an excellent organic fertilizer that improves crop yields – and having more vegetables to sell provides families with extra income.

The Kenya biogas programme provides biodigesters to individual households. The programme is part of the Africa Biogas Partnership Programme (ABPP). ABPP is a partnership between the Dutch government, Hivos and SNV Netherlands Development Organization, in support of national programmes in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Ethiopia and Burkina Faso. The overall objective is to develop a commercially viable biogas sector that supports the use of domestic biogas as a local, sustainable energy source.

Since the start of the programme in 2009, over 15,000 biodigesters have been built across Kenya. Entrepreneurship is encouraged and, to date, nearly 100 masons have started their own business entities, helping to build the local economy.

As a barrier for some families is the cost to apply the biogas technology, the programme has initiated credit partnerships with financial institutions. Working together with rural micro finance institutions and saving cooperatives, it ensures that biodigester buyers get the most favorable credit terms. Income from carbon credit sales directly benefit biogas users in forms of after-sales support, bioslurry training and other useful services.

Project impacts and benefits:

• 15,140 smoke-free kitchens
• 90,840 direct beneficiaries
• 333,500 tonnes CO2 reduced
• 202,000 tonnes of wood saved
• 14,200 productive slurry users
• 28 private enterprises
• 115 full time jobs plus part-time unskilled day labour

Photo credits: Sven Torfinn