The first installations have been made in Gulbarga, Yadgir and Bidar District in Karnataka State. The project encompasses to install biodigesters in 9,590 households. The biogas installations are fed with animal dung and kitchen wastewater. The generated gas is used for cooking. In addition, the slurry of the remaining manure serves as high quality fertiliser replacing chemical products. Traditionally, domestic energy needs for cooking in the project area are met with firewood and kerosene. The inefficient cook stoves that people traditionally use have a thermal efficiency of only eight to ten percent. Low family incomes make it impossible for local people to substitute this traditional fuel. This led already to a degradation of the forest cover in the districts.

Moreover, domestic biogas installations have positive sustainable development effects such as alleviating the workload for women and children and easing health problems caused by indoor pollution. The biogas unit will be of either two or three cubic metre capacity depending on the number and type of cattle owned by the household and the number of people in the household.

The programme results in greenhouse gas (GHG) emission savings in the following ways: The biogas displaces GHG emissions from kerosene and fuel wood that used to be used for cooking. The biogas produced from cattle manure is a renewable source of energy. The biogas displaces GHG emissions from cattle manure that is currently dumped in pits near the household. The cattle manure is dumped along with other waste such as straw from the cow shed, some kitchen waste, crop residues and other organic matter and liquids in the pit. This organic waste is never dry and does not get mixed therefore animal waste is decaying anaerobically and emitting methane.

SKG Sangha coordinates the programme throughout India installing the systems with the help of people from the households. SKG Sangha is a very experienced Indian non-governmental organisation working already over 20 years in this field of activity.

The project contributes towards 10 of the UN sustainability goals.