Biogas Week 2010 celebrations in Bangladesh – National programme reaches milestones
The National Domestic Biogas and Manure Programme in Bangladesh has reached an impressive milestone. Since 2006, the Programme has provided twelve thousand households with biogas plants benefitting more than 70,000 people. The feat is a cause for celebration for SNV, who have provided technical assistance to the programme since 2006. SNV initially started biogas programmes in Nepal and Vietnam and scaled up to other Asian countries.
From 28 May to 5 June, during ‘Biogas Week 2010’, the programme and first biogas union of Bangladesh were officially recognised. A biogas union earns the title after having installed 100 biogas plants.
The Bangladesh biogas programme is implemented by the Infrastructure Development Company Limited with funding from the Dutch and German governments and support from SNV. For the users who invest in them; biogas plants provide multiple benefits: they reduce indoor air pollution, cut down cooking time and produce an organic fertiliser. Biogas plants have created income and employment opportunities for local companies, masons and financial institutions.
With assistance from SNV, the Programme helps the Bangladeshi government and local companies to market and install biogas plants for households. The programme is functional in every district of Bangladesh. In the future, the programme will expand its reach. They are developing a credit scheme to make biogas plants more affordable for households. In Bangladesh, biogas is likely to burn on, for a long time to come.
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