The Rotary E-Club of Australian Nomads and the Rotary Club of Nakuru Kenya undertook a combined project, supported by a D9620 District Grant, to install biogas units to change the lives of members of 6T community groups in the Kenyan Nakuru area.

Article provided by the Rotary E-Club of Australian Nomads Project Manager Bob Lemon

The 6Ts consist of: Tanks, Trees, Toilets, Table Banking, Training resulting in Transformation of lives.

The Biogas unit enables them to utilise freely available “animal dung” to produce clean biogas to operate and supply gas for heating (mainly cooking) in their home and use the by-products as manure for farming which historically greatly impacted their farm produce.

The project will provide 8 biogas units (cost of A$9,040), together with a tree nursery (cost A$1350) for replacement trees destroyed by folk in the 6T Community groups when COVID-19 prevented them from paying for firewood. 

Funding will be provided by a D9620 District Grant of A$5,000 and by joint funding of A$5,390 between The Rotary E-Club of Australian Nomads and the Rotary Club of Nakuru Kenya.

The tree nursery will be an income generating project where community members can buy from, and profits used to grow the nursery activities. Funds generated from the nursery over and above that required for its operation will be injected into the community table banking funds for use within the community.

The project will be managed by the members of the “Self Help Groups” under the “Rotary Community Corps” (These are local community groups created as part of each 6T project with each group consisting of a representative from approximately 30 families.) The labour for the creation of the nursery will be supplied by the beneficiaries. The space where the tree nursery will be established is donated by the community.

The tree nursery will help address an urgent need to stop (or at least reduce) the use of trees for fuel, destroying the habitat in the area.

Benefits of the Project.

The 6T community groups overseen by the Kenyan Nakuru Rotary Club have been very successful bringing families out of poverty. 

The COVID-19 impact on some community group members has been severe, causing them to destroy trees to use as fuel for cooking. The biogas units will address this issue providing the recipients virtually free gas for cooking and heating and, in turn, the survival of affected 6T project groups.

The tree nursery, overseen by the Nakuru Rotary Club, will provide replacement young trees, including fruit trees, to the 6T group members and will provide trees for other community and environmental needs.

Recipients of this project will not be required to outlay very scarce family funds for firewood and this will allow the family to direct their available funds to more productive ends, including schooling, to operating their small farms and to enhance their movement further away from poverty. The installation of the biogas units will have an environmental impact by significantly reducing the amount of trees being consumed for fuel on an on-going basis in their area.