[Stoves] Biogas has also failed in India

[Choppalli Venkata Krishna]

  The scenario is same throughout the country except Punjab, part of Gujarat & Maharastra.
Let some wisdom prevail on Government/Policy makers so that the technologies prove their wortrh.
-Krishna


On Mon, 15 Oct 2007 Saibhaskar Nakka wrote :
>Dear Dr. Karve and Mr. C.V. Krishna,
>
>Thank you very much for your honest remarks on the reasons for failure to
>own improved cook stoves and biogas plants by communities.
>Here, I would like to share my experience in brief about the biogas plants.
>This is the story of a village in Mahabubnagar District, Andhra Pradesh,
>India, there were 18 biogas plants (Deenabandhu model) constructed by NEDCAP
>under the subsidy scheme of the Government in year 2000. Each costing about
>Rs. 6000 - equivalent of purchasing half to one acre of land in year 2000.
>Except one all the plants were defunct within next two years. Till today
>only one biogas plant is functioning. We have requested the NEDCAP officials
>to renew / rectify the defunct biogas plants with our support. Although they
>have made estimates, but have never turned up, instead, they said that they
>could provide new biogas plants rather than rectifying the old biogas
>plants. By using the experience of the farmer who is still using the biogas
>plant since 2000, and with local Maison, we could rectify two old defunt
>biogas plants on demand basis. Although the plants are ready about 8 months
>back, the two farmers have not yet started using them.
>The learning's are as such:
>The Govt. is not interested in  monitoring and rectification of old biogas
>plants.
>The farmers are also not willing to use these biogas plants, as cow dung is
>scarce (less livestock under each farmer), water shortage during summer
>months, time involved in feeding the plant with cow dung slurry, no
>technical knowledge on how to repair or rectify in case of problems in the
>biogas plant, no service or monitoring support from the NEDCAP officials
>after installation of the plant.
>The final note: As per the official records all the biogas plants are
>working till date.
>
>Dr. N. Sai Bhaskar Reddy
>
>
> > Dear stovers,
> > C.V.Krishna narrated why improved stoves programme failed in India.
> > It is not just the improved cookstoves but also the biogas is a failure in
> > India. In a country having 140 million rural families, we have today only
> > 2
> > million working biogas plants. The dung based biogas plant is the
> > costliest
> > cooking device in the world, costing even more than a micro-wave
> > oven.  Only
> > rich dairy farmers can afford to have a dung based biogas plant. You get
> > at
> > least 4 times as much energy from dung if you burned it directly than if
> > you
> > converted it into methane.  Thus it is also a wasteful process. Our
> > experiments showed that dung cakes burned quite cleanly in a stove with a
> > fan. Even the costliest model of such a stove costs only a tenth as much
> > as
> > a biogas plant. Biogas is good for countries having year round rainfall,
> > because under such conditions, one cannot dry the dung into cakes. But in
> > India it can be dried very easily and used as fuel in a stove.
> > Yours
> > A.D.Karve
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: Choppalli Venkata Krishna <krishnacreat1 at rediffmail.com>
> > To: <Stoves at listserv.repp.org>
> > Sent: Sunday, October 14, 2007 7:50 AM
> > Subject: [Stoves] Test that is ULTIMATE
> >
> >
> >
> >   Dear Frank
> > I confess my failure in promoting Improved Stoves as I missed the
> > following
> > vital points:-
> > 1- The Ministry (Govt. of India) after testing them, had approved 34
> > models
> > as Improved Cook stoves by '86 for dissemination in India.( The programme
> > was launched as back as 1982).  We thought/took it granted that because we
> > have done so much of brain exercise on Thermodynamics,/Heat Engines and
> > that
> > our work ( In the Laboratory) has been lauded by the Ministry, our stoves
> > will be successful; we started dissemination programme.
> > 2- We totally forgot the fact that from the age of 7 a Rural Indian girl
> > learns Stove building and by the age of 12 she becomes an expert in stoves
> > building SUITING TO HER FAMILY MEMBERS' COOKING HABITS, NEEDS & THE FUEL
> > AVAILABLE IN THE VISCINITY..
> > 3- We propagated that the stove which was used by her(the Rural Woman) is
> > the worst one and that we have come up with an innovation that will save
> > 1-
> > Fuel;2- Ward off the Smoke; 3- Shall keep the Kitchen environment clean 4-
> > Heath hazards will no more occur. etc, etc.
> > 4- She (The beneficiary) was gentle enough to nod to our speeches as a
> > token
> > of acceptance and allowed the ICS to be built in her Kitchen.
> > 5- We went on building stoves in millions. Most of the STOVE BUILDERS were
> > MALE members.
> > 6- After a year/less than a year, we discovered that either the
> > implemented
> > stove was UNUSED or DISMANTLED.
> > 7- On questioning of the reason of the statuesque, they (95% of them)
> > would
> > remain silent till one goes on pestering on the reasons of Non usage. They
> > lied to us that the stove was good and that on certain occasions only they
> > preferred to use it; some would lie that they were using the new improved
> > stove till yesterday and that today (the day of our questioning) only they
> > have not used it. None of them would say that THE STOVE IS NOT
> > APPROPRIATE/SUITABLE/CONVENIENT TO THEM.
> > 8- We also in the spree of achieving the target fixed by the Ministry did
> > not spare any time to discuss with them WHAT ACTUALY THEY WANT; we went on
> > IMPOSING OUR MODEL on them however inappropriate/appropriate it was to the
> > user.
> > 9- In 1996 after a decade, more than 85 Improved Models were in India. But
> > on introspection, the models those were disseminated in '84-85 did not
> > exist
> > in 87-88; the models of 86-87 were obsolete in 89-90 and so on the chain
> > continued.
> > 10- Saddest Part is none of us nor did the Ministry take cognizance of the
> > episode and every year the Annual Report continued publishing the total
> > (cumulative from -82) number of ICS implemented and the quantum of wood
> > saved thereby. None of us had the wisdom to put a break to the run on one
> > leg heading towards a wall. We never even assembled to introspect the
> > situation.
> > 11- Results- The National Programme on Improved Cook Stoves abruptly was
> > discontinued.
> > 12- It is some individual organizations that are able to sustain the
> > Mission
> > of ICS in India; but compared with the Rural households of the Country, is
> > insignificant in numers.
> > 13- The reason for such success by a few Organizations today is: Utter
> > Patience in reaching the Goal; Involving the USER WOMEN in building the
> > stoves of their choice; follow up after implementation; understanding the
> > users' needs; economy; use of appropriate and locally available material
> > and
> > stove-builders(women). And any other that makes a stove accepted by the
> > Users.
> >
> > We all must keep in my mind that 'There are as many stove-designs as many
> > Houses'. Theory folowed by testing in par with the field needs and
> > invovement can definitely bring us success.
> >
> > WE can learn lessons from above and if we get the facts from the
> > successful
> > implementers the 'Talisman' they have used for their success, YES
> > our  Test
> > can be concluded as ULTIMATE.
> > Regards
> > -Krishna
> >
> >
> >
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