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Herald Reporter

Zimbabwe yesterday joined the rest of the world in commemorating World Environment Day with organisations such as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) promoting the use of clean energy at refugee institutions.

The UNHCR has rolled out biogas projects at Tongogara Refugee Camp in Chipinge and the Waterfalls Transit Centre in Harare as part of efforts to promote the use of renewable energy at the refugee institutions.

The initiative which was funded by the UNHCR Clean Energy to the tune of US$30 000 has helped control pollution, deforestation, and environmental degradation.

The UNHCR’s biogas project relies on the use of food and animal waste.

The energy is used by the people of concern for cooking at Tongogara while the Waterfalls Transit Centre uses organic fertilizer from animal waste.

In an interview recently UNHCR representative responsible for Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), Mr Nosa Boadi said the initiative was deriving benefits from waste.

He said besides cooking and fertiliser, the gas was also used to warm chickens at the Tongogara refugee camp poultry project.

He said two digesters were installed at Waterfalls Transit Centre and five at Tongogara Refugee Camp; two at restaurants owned by refugees and five at the piggery.

The UNHCR intends to expand the project by better using the biogas produced at the piggery for productive use such as small-scale agro-processing of peanut butter, soap, sausage, or bake bread.

“The project is still unfolding but we now we have the energy. The biogas is used to warm poultry while people can also cook using the energy. The biogas is used by refugees for free. So we are making use of the available waste to manufacture cooking energy.

“We have used the biogas at the piggery as well as two restaurants run by refugees. It is the pig manure that performs best in terms of producing biogas. With food waste, we can only produce energy enough to cook for two hours. We have an opportunity to turn waste into cooking energy and for use by small-scale agro-processing,” said Mr Boadi.

The UNHCR said the project was also important in reducing carbon footprint by reducing the use of charcoal and firewood for cooking purposes.

Biogas is a type of biofuel naturally produced from the decomposition of organic matter and is eco-friendly energy production.

The UNHCR Zimbabwe provides protection and assistance to 22,568 refugees and asylum seekers and the communities hosting them.