AFNEED

Globally, renewable energy consumption is on rise and considered a key enabler to realization of the socio-economic empowerment. Biogas is clean renewable biofuel energy easily produced from organic waste.  In Kenya biomass energy is the main source of energy for cooking and heating rural households. Over reliance on biomass energy has negative impact to users, environment and contributes to greenhouse emission (GHG) and global warming.  Women and girls are primarily responsible for household cooking and access to clean energy, reduces their exposure to harmful smoke, improve their safety risks to physical and sexual attacks as they collect firewood. The access to biogas energy access by low resource rural women is limited by high installation costs and low awareness. Small-scale biogas plants can produce safe, affordable and clean energy to replace biomass energy for over 4 million poor in the rural areas of Kenya.

Over 40% population of Kenya live in the rural areas, where wood fuel share 86% and charcoal almost 34% of cooking energy contributing to deforestation, negative environmental impact, user health risk, physical and sexual attacks to women and girls. Energy demand is increasing with the rising population growth and supporting access to clean, affordable renewable energy will improve the rural communities’ livelihoods. The project target Muranga County with a population of over I million, 450km2 population density, over 87% rural population, 38% poverty level, and 14.5% forest coverage. The county has embarked on an intensive livestock production program and supporting  of biogas energy production will be an opportunity to manage organic waste and provide clean energy to the communities. Biogas energy will create school time for the young girls,  good lighting for children, time for women to engage in  self development activities, improve soil productivity and ultimately better livelihood. Biogas has advantage over other renewable energy technologies as it combines energy production with storage and does not require extra energy, making it suitable for low skilled rural communities. Other than installation cost and minimal low skill maintenance cost, biogas is freely obtained and require no grid.

The project will engage in a stakeholder analysis to establish collaborator and role assignments for effective project implementation. among them community mobilizers and opinion leaders. identification of needy women-led households will be undertaken through help of community leaders. The target women will be sensitized on importance of biogas energy and trained on use of the biogas at household level. COVID-19 control measures will be applied in each gathering and protection equipment provided. Activities will be scheduled on quarter year sessions and the stakeholders analysis and training sessions to completed by fourth quarter.

Upon completion of training, AFNEED will start construction of permanent fixed doom-plants type for women without land use issues and provide balloon type for otherwise.  The biogas system will be complete with cooking stoves and lighting systems. The constructions will take 6 quarters sessions. During the construction period, targets will be guided on gathering organic waste in preparation for use in the production plants. AFNEED will train local volunteers on maintenance skills of the biogas system. These trainees will be useful in maintaining the biogas systems after the project is over 

Energy access is a critical driver to of gender inequalities and combating poverty. When women and girls have access to reliable and affordable energy, their household chores become less laborious, allowing time for the pursuit of education, income generating activities and leisure opportunities. Household air pollution kill million people every year. Access to clean energy reduces exposure to harmful smoke from open fire to vulnerable women and girls. Acknowledging the potential of women to participate in the energy sector results in increased opportunities for women and men to benefit in economic and investment opportunities.

AFNEED will work with women not as only user of energy but also provider and decision maker in energy for improved gender equality and women’s empowerment in Muranga county. The target group will be 600 women-led household chosen from Maragua and Kandara sub counties, chosen because of their population density, and accessibility due to proximity to Nairobi Meteroplitan areas.

Children from the target group will benefit from safe household lighting to enable effective reading and leisure

Young girls will have enough time for school work and will be safe from physical and sexual abuse as they collect firewood and perform other house chores

Youth will benefit from employment to maintain biogas plants, reducing idleness and crime

Deforestation will be minimized, improving the area environment and climatic conditions

The byproduct of biogas energy is high quality fertilizer to improve soil fertility for increased productivity and consequently increased food production

Peer learning is likely to occur, with new people engaging in biogas production improving the community livelihood. 

AFNEED biogas energy solution align to the resilient ecosystems challenge in helping the local communities in Muranga County protect their forests, manage organic waste and restore soil fertility for increased productivity.

The target community will require intensive sensitization and training of the AFNEED solution to enhance adoption of the technology  

The biogas energy solution will reduce wood fuel consumption thus reducing deforestation and consequently retaining carbon in the forests for mitigation of climate change. Over time data will be gathered to establish the carbon sink in the forest

The biogas energy system with cook stove and lighting system will reduce air pollution providing health benefits to children, girls and women being the main users of household energy

Methane and carbon dioxide gases are produced during decomposition of organic matter. When released to atmosphere, methane causes global warming while carbon dioxide is essential in mitigating climate change. The AFNEED solution reduces methane emission to atmosphere and increases carbon dioxide  essential for natural resources

Biogas was introduced in Kenya in 1954 to large scale livestock farmers but the technology did not l disseminated well due to limited skills to operate the technology. Improved sensitization and capacity building is critical to upscale the technology adoption especially for small scale production plants for rural household. Studies indicate Kenya has almost 2 million rural farmers with almost 7 million cows producing enough organic waste for digestion to generate over 5000 Mega Watts of energy to reduce the country energy deficit

The AFNEED solution of supporting small scale biogas production in the rural areas justify the scaling stage of development

Energy efficiency in homes improve the lives of women because women are often responsible for a greater share of the burden of housework and childcare. The AFNEED solution will work with the target group to identify the suitable production to meet specific household needs

The AFNEED solution will be based on need assessment to enhance adoption of the technology. This will be a bottom up approach to enable target group own the solution. AFNEED recognize that women play a key role in household energy decisions and have valuable knowledge and experience that is important to consider when introducing biogas technology to them, failure to which negative outcomes may result. AFNEED will project a theory of change of the solution  aligned to organization vision and objectives to guide action plan development, implementation plan, success indicators and sustainability 

This will follow;

• Conduct a survey to establish the opinion and understanding of biogas from the target group
• Based on the survey outcomes, develop a comprehensive action plan for capacity building the target group on biogas utilization
• Use the survey insights to help identify stakeholders to be involved in the AFNEED solution implementation

 I think establishing an innovation need assessment for the target group will identify strengths and weaknesses of the implementation process and enable improvement to increase adoption and sustainability 

Whether the need assessment will change the market and positive impact of an innovation, will depend on the innovation, competing alternatives, existence time and target group. Innovation at scaling development stage may benefit more from need assessment of the target group

current- 150

one year-300

five year-2,000

• Reduced hungry persons in target group
• Income generating activities for reduced poverty
• Women allowed to use land for development activities
• Young girls attending school regularly with improved performance
• Men joining women in development activities
• Men choosing women as community leaders

Full time staff -5

Part-time-3

Others-2

AFNEED has a governing board of 5 directors and executive committee of 3 board members

AFNEED operate under strong team, no discrimination and transparency

the technical team is very experienced and competent, most of them having worked in public and private sector

The youth in the organization are well mentored to give their best to AFNEED

role assignment and freedom to work with full support of the governing body

AFNEED is a not for profit organization

AFNEED is a not for profit organization

AFNEED is a not for profit organization

AFNEED is a not for profit organization

AFNEED is a not for profit organization

AFNEED is a not for profit organization

AFNEED is a not for profit organization

AFNEED is a not for profit organization

AFNEED is a not for profit organization