Oasis takes advantage of biogas

Mr. Freddy Sevilla, owner of the restaurant Oasis in San Carlos, is happy with his new biodigester that has given him multiple savings and benefits. He saved C$10,000 ($362) by replacing chemical fertilizers with organic fertilizer - biol, in a first cultivation of his crops, likewise, reduced by 70% the monthly consumption of more than 2000 slices of wood and of 5-cylinder propane gas.

Mr Sevilla said that he installed the biogas system motivated by an allergic gush of his family. "The doctor told us it was because of wood smoke and that it will not be completely solved until the smoke was eliminated. Only in medicines we already invested C$400 and additionally C$200 per month," he said. The biodigester of 40 cubic meters provides biogas for cooking during 29 hours each day in a two-burner stove. "I am very happy and satisfied since there is a better quality of life for people who prepare food," he added.

The biodigester of Oasis was installed by the company ENERLISA. It generates about 76 buckets of manure daily, which are applied in cutting grass, avocado and orange groves. Mr Sevilla, in two years, will recover the investment made in the biogas system, only with the savings in purchasing butane gas, wood, and with the replacement of chemical fertilizer by using biol, without including those benefits in health and environment.

At local level about 500 farming families have installed biogas systems backed by the National Biogas Programme (NBP) in Nicaragua and have improved their living conditions, have increased productivity and have obtained significant savings by not buying chemical fertilizers and deadwood. The use of biogas technology also reduces the effects of carbon dioxide (CO2) which is the greenhouse gas that most influences global warming.

The NBP supports producers so they have access to clean energy with a bonus incentive of $480, which applies to the cost of technology; performs a rigorous quality control of construction and operation of biogas systems, and provides training and technical assistance in the uses and applications of biogas for domestic and productive purposes as well as in the use and applications of biol, and good livestock practices.

The NBP is implemented by SNV Nicaragua, in partnership with HIVOS with an investment of over $6 million dollars funded by the Multilateral Investment Fund (FOMIN), the Nordic Development Fund (NDF), SNV, HIVOS and local contributions.