Bio-gas and Aquatic Weeds

KCIS has a number of projects going at the moment, one of the big ones is the production of methane to be used as cooking fuel and a fuel for static petrol engines (generators, borehole pumps, etc.)

In the general scheme of things, methane collectors are fuelled with "organic matter", usually animal waste, of which there is an abundance in Kenya, with cattle and goats being everywhere.

But organic matter also includes plant life, and in particular, a certain aquatic weed that is causing major problems in Kenya, the water hyacinth.

I have not seen it first-hand, but I have read that the shallow waters in Lake Victoria are being choked by this plant, which isn't even native to Africa, let alone Kenya - it originates from South America.

My brain went into overtime when I read this. I was imagining a biogas processing plant somewhere on the shores of Lake Victoria processing tons of water hyacinth and producing methane to power a large power plant, with fertilser as a useful by product.

Not impossible, I admit. Water hyacinth lends itself to producing methane, but it would have to be dried out to some degree, then pulped or chopped up to assist rotting.

And KCIS? We are an organisation of three people with no regular funding. So what can we do to get things started? And of course, a project of this size would probably need government intervention, either at local or national level. And I cannot even imagine what sort of problems that would raise.

Since my first excitement, I have found that there are already organisations working on this, but cannot find out what stage they have reached.

So, I shall return to working on small household or community methane collectors, but I will maintain the dream of one day finding a way to minimise the hyacinth in Lake Victoria while at the same time producing virtually free fuel and fertiliser.

Typha is another water weed that causes problems in water ways. I have been told that it is edible. With the food crisis growing in East Africa, shouldn't someone be looking into this? Or are they? I can find no information, but if you know different, please let me know.

That's a Rash Idea

My imagination has been running away with me - again!

OK, so the idea is this - I don't remember suffering a fever at the time ...

On our plot in Kisii, Kenya, there is a two-room hut, not a cottage, not a bungalow, a hut, made of sticks, stones and mud. At least the roof is corrugated steel. There are proper windows and doors, with security grilles.

There is a corridor running front to back between the two rooms with doors to the outside at both ends.

As the hut is built on the side of a hill, the back faces a small cliff and there is an open passageway running between the hut and this cliff. There is also a small appendage which could be used as a "kitchen".

So, my idea is ... to live there for a while ~ no electricity, no running water.

But, while I am there, I want to carry out some minor improvements.

First off, I will install water, with a tank on the cliff behind the hut, to give a head. This will supply an outside shower and maybe running water to the kitchen.

Second, a home-made portaloo. I want to use the waste to collect the methane, which will eventually power a generator and a water pump (there is a river at the bottom of the plot).

Then there is the land itself. On top of the cliff, the land is a lot flatter than in front of the hut. It is very fertile and I reckon, from memory, there is enough to grow crops to feed all the kids on the orphanage register, with some left over to sell.

A by-product of the methane production is fertiliser. This together with composting will keep the soil rich, which will be necessary as I want two or three crops a year - it rains all year round in Kisii.

Linking into these improvements, I will be experimenting with using the sun to warm water for washing, and water filtration and purification. I also seem to remember building a food cooler when I was at school - but that was in 19 - yes well, it was a long time ago.

To finish off the place, I will make a BBQ out of ½ an oil barrel, so that the kids can sample the delights of a burger or hot dog (you know the type, burnt on the outside, raw in the middle).

What I had forgotten when dreaming up all this is that I am approaching 60, I am not the fittest person in the world, and I am mildly disabled. Further, Kisii is at 5,700 feet and oxygen is a bit thin.

Still, it will be an experience and it will allow me to tinker with the project designs and get them to work to their best effect.

Wish me luck!