A Brief Overview of the SEDS Biogas Project

The Social Education and Development Society (SEDS) is a grassroots non-governmental organisation (NGO) working in Anantapur District, Andhra Pradesh, India. The SEDS Biogas CDM Project carried out the installation of 5,000 Deenbandhu fixed model biogas digesters of 2m³ capacity. These digesters were installed in single households across 5 Mandals within Anantapur District, and training was provided to the householders regarding how to feed organic waste, primarily cattle dung, into the digester and how to harvest the slurry afterwards for use as an improved fertiliser for cultivation. The biogas itself can be used in a stove top, provided and installed by SEDS, for cooking and heating hot water. The project aimed to reduce the use of non-renewable biomass burned in wood fired stoves, which are commonly used in the villages, replacing this with more efficient, clean, and sustainable biogas.

A potentially crucial element of the SEDS biogas project is that the initial training and ongoing maintenance and motivation work, including education regarding effective use of the biogas digester, also involves the women of the homes rather than only the men. This ensures that the people who become responsible for using the biogas digesters also have access to the knowledge that they require, unlike for some government-run biogas schemes where women were excluded for such training so the digesters could not be properly used (Raha 2013).

The funding for the SEDS biogas project involved selling all Certified Emission Reductions (CERs) from the first crediting period, i.e. 7 years. The advance sale of these CERs for a minimum price of €12 each provided the necessary advance funding for construction of the 5,000 biogas digesters. The entire revenue from the sales of CERs for the following crediting periods, after fulfilling the binding obligations laid down in the Emission Reduction Purchase Agreement will go to the women of the participating families who are identified as the users of the biogas digesters.