Mommy is now cooking with biogas!

Cattle is a the main commodity of Nimasi village in North East Timor. The huge number of cattle in this area obviously produces a massive amount of manure.

What to do with all this waste?

It used to be ignored by breeders, but slowly they learned about using animal waste for biogas.

Biogas: a gaseous fuel, especially methane, produced by the breakdown of organic matter.

Since learning about biogas, life in Nimasi village has changed and the community members are reaping the benefits from this new-found energy source.

"I joined a session about biogas. It was facilitated by Wahana Visi Indonesia (WVI), a partner of World Vision in North East Timor. I had never heard about it before. I learned that the waste, turned to biogas, was actually very useful for our daily needs like cooking and electricity," said Serafina Palbeno, a member of Cendana farmer group in Nimasi village.

The biogas training was organized in cooperation with an organization from Kupang called Geng iMuT (Cattle Care People Alliance). The organization advocates about issues related to village people and the environment.

Geng iMuT trained the villagers to produce biogas from cow waste. The used leftover found items like metal oil drums and unused car tires. These odds-and-ends were used to construct a biogas stove.

Nimasi villagers celebrate the changes in their community since they learned about the benefits of biogas.

"We are very happy to know about biogas which is  easy and simple to use. Now we can cook quickly. I can also save money which was formerly used to buy kerosene. My children can better focus on their school instead of spending time looking for firewood," said Serafina.

A 'leftover' product like cow waste, used as biogas fuel has improved the living standards of the Nimasi people.

*Written by Daniel Happu, Economic and Agriculture Development Coordinator, Wahana Visi Indonesia at North Central Timor operational office