Biogas use in Reconstruction
Practical Action
Case Study: Biogas Technology in Sri Lanka
Biogas technology has been used in Sri Lanka for nearly two decades, with many government and
NGO backed projects developing various technologies at different stages. Practical Action South
Asia recognised the need to look at the biogas technology in an ‘integrated’ manner (considering
all possible applications, solutions, inputs and outputs and how they could interlink) to reap the
multiple benefits which this technology offers.
Traditionally, biogas technology has been used in Sri Lanka as a source of energy for the rural
population; predominantly for lighting. However, it was realised that it possessed several other
benefits which were not being fully exploited. The main emphasis of the project was to develop
and promote appropriate designs of biogas units that could address, in an integrated way, the
local need for an alternative cooking fuel, the increasing cost of fertiliser, and the need to reduce
solid waste, especially in poorer areas of society.
While energy and fertiliser remain the main uses of biogas at household level the project is being
increasingly recognised as a waste disposal technology by the local government authorities for
whom garbage is a severe environmental problem.
So, at the national level in Sri Lanka, biogas technology has a number of benefits as described:
Generation of useful fuel
Production of fertiliser
Clearance of waste
An example of the work undertaken was the biogas plant installed at the home of Sakunthaladev
Kathiravetpillai and her family in a rural district of the country. The waste from their cows was
transformed into an energy source supplying the family’s needs, and meant that they could spend
their time more productively instead of gathering wood for cooking and heating.
Additionally, Sakunthaladev’s husband
became skilled at installing and
maintaining the biogas plant, making him
crucial for the development of other plants
in the area. This is directly in line with the
PCR principle of improving people’s
independence, and increasing access to
markets and skills.
Figure 8: Biogas plant installed in
garden in Sri Lanka
Photo: © Steven Hunt/Practical Action
It is clear that biogas technology has undergone significant development in Sri Lanka, and efforts
to integrate the various uses are seeing benefits on both individual and regional scale. The
increasing acceptance and knowledge of the technology is making it more appropriate for
implementation in several contexts and financial benefits are becoming more attractive, through
quicker rates of return and better income-generating opportunities. Biogas technology can play a
vital role in solving some of the major problems faced by the Sri Lankan societies of the present
and future.
The Practical Action technical brief Experience of Biogas Implementation in Sri Lanka gives an
overview of the work that Practical Action South Asia has undertaken.
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