In Trelew, Chubut, the students from the local Technical School have installed a new wind-solar hybrid system, capable of providing opportunity for energy self-sufficiency in the rural community.
Upscaling Strategy: Converting Banana Plant Waste to Cooking Fuel in India
One of our completed SEPS projects, entitled “Value-Addition to Food Crop Processing: Converting Banana Plant Waste to Cooking Fuel”, is currently undergoing an upscaling phase supported by WISIONS. Our partners at IEI India have recently submitted a progress report documenting their work.
The first phase of this SEPS project was organised around the village of Gundigere, in the Ramanagara district of the state of Karnataka, India. The project had two major goals: to improve income opportunities and create access to clean energy for the local population. The project demonstrated the technical, economic and social viability of the applied concept. For more information on the final outcomes, visit: Value-addition to food crop processing: Converting banana plant-waste to cooking-fuel
After the successful implementation of the first project phase, WISIONS continues to support IEI in its aim to scale up the demonstrated concept in a second phase. The main objectives of the ongoing upscaling activities include:
- Replication of the project in other locations
- Demonstration that the benefits are replicable (e.g. increased harvests, increased income for farmers, use of a renewable energy source (biogas) and conservation of water use)
- Enabling access to clean fuel for small groups (families) in the rural population
To date, four drip-irrigation systems have been completed as planned and are in operation at the corresponding banana plantations. Two out of four biogas plants have been constructed and one out of four gas distribution systems is up and running, supplying rural homes with biogas. All the villagers involved have received intensive training in technical and managerial issues, which are key to ensure the proper operation of the whole system.
