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From Waste to Fuel: Improving Agriculture and Livelihoods in UgandaHB

Project Location Uganda
Climate Impact ~660,000 tCO2e emissions avoided over 10 years
Community Impact Increased income for 10,000 farming households

SDG Impact

Project Details

The project is providing small family farms with a small-scale digester that generates biofuel for cooking and organic fertilizer that generates savings, increase crop yields and incomes, helping improve livelihoods. Emissions reduction crediting is planned to begin in August, 2024. Over the course of the 10-year project, more than 10,000 farming households in the several coffee and sugar growing regions of Uganda will participate and contribute to the reduction of carbon emissions. Read more.

Cookstoves are fueled by the transformation of organic waste into methane-rich biogas that connects directly into the home. Similarly to how a cow’s digestive system works, the organic inputs are broken down anaerobically. The resulting biogas is captured for use in the home and on the farm. The transformation also produces a byproduct of organic material that can be used as natural fertilizer for crops, compost, and more. 

The carbon revenue for this project reduces the cost for the installation of the biodigester and biogas package, which include the cookstoves, the biodigester, fuel lines, and additional infrastructure. This makes the technology economically accessible to low-income farmers, helping to better meet demand for and expand the scale of biogas technology in this region for more families.

Farmers participating in the project are supported by technical engagement teams in their area, thanks to our implementation partners Sistema.bio, that offer information and education, provide installation and support to operate the systems, and also help measure usage. Over the 10-year project period, the project is expected to avoid an average of approximately 99,000 metric tonnes of CO2-equivalent emissions per year.

Project Impact

The project reduces emissions in two key ways. First, the systems reduce methane emissions from organic waste by capturing and burning the gas, preventing emissions that would otherwise come from the decomposition process. Secondly, the farmers participating in this project currently rely heavily on fuelwood to meet their energy needs. These systems displace those former energy sources with biogas. Most often used to fuel cookstoves, the biogas can also be used for other thermal processes in the home and on the farm.

The installation of these systems on subsistence farms can lead to multi-faceted benefits:

  • The use of biogas powered cookstoves and water heaters protect forests and biodiversity and improves indoor air quality by displacing the need for firewood in homes.
  • Families have an increase in income from the money they save on energy by displacing the use of firewood with biogas.
  • Women and girls can participate in more productive activities by expending less time and energy collecting firewood.
  • Farmers and their families benefit from a reduction in agrochemical pollution and save money on inputs with organic, farm-generated fertilizer that displaces the use of chemical fertilizers and improves food production.
  • The project helps advance SDG 7 and 8 which strive to ensure access to affordable energy and promote sustained economic growth.

Validation & Verification

This project will be validated under the Gold Standard, using its GS TPDDTEC v3.1 methodology, which can be viewed or downloaded here. The pertinent data and calculation methods needed to independently reproduce and verify the number of emission reduction credits to be issued are described in that methodology and in the validated project description document, which can be viewed or downloaded here. Support of this project is subject to Native’s Terms and Conditions.

How to get involved

To learn more about this project, or how your organization can get involved, send us a note. We look forward to discussing ways we can work together to catalyze climate action.

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Project news

A snapshot of life on a rural farm in Uganda

One might struggle to imagine a rural landscape where households and dairy farms are closely integrated, surrounded by palm trees, banana trees, and large fruit trees. Just an hour’s drive from Uganda’s capital of Kampala, Alexander Eaton recently embarked on a journey to this agricultural haven… Read the story.

Validation & Verification

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Project Development Partners

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