India is the world’s largest milk producer, with an abundance of dairy animals. This raises the challenge to manage the bio-waste of these dairy animals and how to make it more sustainable. It has a dual potential as both a fuel and a fertilizer if treated correctly. So, the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) chose Zakariyapura village, which was already associated with Amul as a dairy cooperative society, in Anand district.
Why Zakariyapura? One, because it is already an all-women dairy cooperative society. And second because it is in a little remote location in Gujarat, where the women used to rely on firewood for their cooking needs, despite the availability of cattle dung. So, providing a cleaner alternative fuel source was an urgent need.
After surveying the households of the village, NDDB analysed and agreed to grant a 2 cubic metre biogas plant to every animal holding household. Those households having 2-3 cows or buffalos can easily run this biogas plant at its full capacity at home, which will suffice the cooking needs of a family of 5-6 members. So, the methane gas that was emitting and damaging the environment is now productively captured and is being used for the cooking needs of the dairy farmers.
After successfully providing a cleaner alternative cooking fuel, NDDB then created the first ‘all-women manure cooperative’ for the treatment of the second product, the slurry, used as a fertilizer in agricultural farmlands. The Zakariyapura Sakhi Khad Sahkari Mandali sells the surplus slurry to NDDB Mrida Limited, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of NDDB which further manufactures the surplus slurry or manure into organic fertilizers for the farmers.
Along with these benefits of Biogas, the women of Zakariyapura are changing the social landscape as well.
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Down to Earth is Science and Environment fortnightly published by the Society for Environmental Communication, New Delhi. We publish news and analysis on issues that deal with sustainable development, which we scan through the eyes of science and environment.