SUCCESS STORY: BIOGAS IN DAUND BLOCK

This is the way people cut trees to use firewood for cooking

 The SCOPE began its work of creating awareness about Biogas. As the prices of petroleum and cooking gas have been rising by leaps and bounds, the SCOPE decided to discuss the problem with the villagers of  Takli Bhima  village of Daund block, Pune district.

There were several meetings to discuss the positive and negative things about this new proposal.The whole process went on nearly for a year and beyond.                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                                                                                         

Even to make a cup of tea the villagers use firewood.  

Considering the cost of LPG cooking gas, the destruction of green earth around and health hazards due to smoke of firewood suffered by the villagers the SCOPE educated the village-families about many benefits of the Biogas-cum-toilet project. 

 It  was a common site in the rural India apart from the slums in cities of people going out into the fields for nature's calls.Even today one may come across this situation in several villages across India. However, the SCOPE also educated the villagers about the health hazards created due to open feces. 
Though the villagers agreed to attach toilets to the Biogas Plants, they faced another big hurdle.

The question was, "How to connect the Human toilets to the Biogas Plants?" Since bio-waste comes from cows(mostly) and the cows are considered Holy, it was unacceptable for the villagers to join human feces to the Biogas Plant. But they were made to understand with several meetings. 

Finally a few were ready initially. As the others saw the benefits, they too joined the movement of having a Biogas-cum-toilet plant around their house.   
   

Earlier, women would be busy thinking and hunting for dry firewood, braking and chopping it from the neighbouring jungles. Anything would do. Small dry shrubs, thorny bushes or dwarf trees to bigger and shady trees. All this firewood was being stacked. 

Today, they do not have to roam around for firewood. Now they are aware of financial savings. There are smoke related health-hazards, like burning eyes, illnesses of lungs, corns due to thorns. Of course the Biogas has taken their worries of hunting or chopping firewood, the Biogas fire kindled every family's oven.
There are other benefits. The Biogas is much safer than the LPG gas cylinders.the farmers also avail the benefit of manure by way slurry that issues forth from Biogas.  

Some More Photos of other families in the same area.