Bio-gas, a blessing 

For Nisha Maurya, a resident of Ramgaon Village in Uttar Pradesh, a bio-gas stove to cook on is not just that — it is a symbol of independence and self-reliance. Widowed a few years ago, Nisha shoulders all the responsibilities of her household single-handedly. She takes care of her children, sends them to school, tends to her agricultural field, and rears a few heads of livestock. 

With support from the Aga Khan Foundation, she installed a bio-gas unit in her house last year, for which she had to invest Rs. 8000. “When I used to cook on LPG (cylinders), I would pay Rs. 1200 monthly. But now, for the next 10 to 15 years, I do not have to pay anything, because of the bio-gas system,” she explained. 

She also does not need anyone’s assistance in procuring LPG cylinders or fertiliser for her fields, as the by-product of biogas is a slurry. The slurry is used in her fields as organic fertiliser. “It keeps the soil fertile and moist,” she added.

Nisha, who has always been bold and outspoken, has also inspired her neighbours to adopt cooking on biogas. 

“It does not emit thick smoke like wood-fired stoves do, and does not cause a headache,” she said. Using biofuel in cooking is a zero-waste process, as it effectively utilises cow dung waste which releases methane into the atmosphere when left out in the open. 

Cooking with biogas also decreases indoor air pollution, creating a healthier environment for Nisha’s children. “I feel happy to have made this change, it has benefitted us greatly,” she smiled. 

This story has been covered as part of a special collaboration between Village Square and the Aga Khan Foundation to highlight stories of change under the Aspirational District Programme supported by the Induslnd Bank’s Flagship CSR initiative.

Sukanya Roy is a freelance journalist based out of Kolkata, and she believes in crafting impactful stories on the themes of gender, human rights, sexuality, environment, and the lives of denotified tribes and communities in India.