VUTSELA: Sustainable Farm-based Biogas Systems with Community Impact in Eswatini VUTSELA means "keep burning" in Siswati.

Energy access in Eswatini is limited and very dependent on neighbouring countries with 80% of electricity being imported from South Africa and Mozambique. Liquefied petroleum gas availability is declining sharply with production facilities in South Africa closing down. The bulk of the population (78%) are based in rural areas, contributing to the crisis of ensuring viable and sustainable supply of energy to households. Decentralised energy supply solutions such as solar PV and biogas are suitable solutions to this problem. Biogas may be particularly well suited for adoption in Eswatini as 71% of the land is agricultural and feedstock for digestion is readily available. Biogas generated sustainably from waste could satisfy household or light-industrial heating requirements, which form the majority of energy needs.

Farms would be an appropriate route to market entry as digestion provides the added benefit of waste disposal and fertilser production in addition to energy savings from biogas production. As 37% of the economically active population of Eswatini is employed in agriculture, targeting farms aids the economic survival of a backbone of employment in the country. Moreover, it effectively exposes a large proportion of the population to a new technology (biogas generation through anaerobic digestion) which aids in education and wider scale later adoption.

This project aims to roll out 100 digesters (plus an initial 15 prototypes) to low income farms in Eswatini and the bordering regions of South Africa. Eswatini is targeted due to the reasons stated, and South Africa is seen as a potential market expansion in neighbouring regions with a similar context. This project period will be used to gain valuable market feedback through community engagement and the established methods of Smart Villages Research Group to understand and define the real needs of the local farms and communities and use this information for design revisions before future commercial rollout and continued operation.

The project will be executed with a local tertiary training centre, STREEC, aimed at equipping Eswatini youth with technical skills in renewable energy and entrepreneurship. Small commercial farms will be chosen for initial sites within a 100km radius of the training centre for ease of monitoring, training, and engagement hubs for wider groups of low income farmers to introduce the technology and understand the specific needs and value to the community. Innovation will be largely focused on technology adoption and developing a viable and sustainable business model. VUTSELA means "keep burning" in Siswati.

Energy access in Eswatini is limited and very dependent on neighbouring countries with 80% of electricity being imported from South Africa and Mozambique. Liquefied petroleum gas availability is declining sharply with production facilities in South Africa closing down. The bulk of the population (78%) are based in rural areas, contributing to the crisis of ensuring viable and sustainable supply of energy to households. Decentralised energy supply solutions such as solar PV and biogas are suitable solutions to this problem. Biogas may be particularly well suited for adoption in Eswatini as 71% of the land is agricultural and feedstock for digestion is readily available. Biogas generated sustainably from waste could satisfy household or light-industrial heating requirements, which form the majority of energy needs.

Farms would be an appropriate route to market entry as digestion provides the added benefit of waste disposal and fertilser production in addition to energy savings from biogas production. As 37% of the economically active population of Eswatini is employed in agriculture, targeting farms aids the economic survival of a backbone of employment in the country. Moreover, it effectively exposes a large proportion of the population to a new technology (biogas generation through anaerobic digestion) which aids in education and wider scale later adoption.

This project aims to roll out 100 digesters (plus an initial 15 prototypes) to low income farms in Eswatini and the bordering regions of South Africa. Eswatini is targeted due to the reasons stated, and South Africa is seen as a potential market expansion in neighbouring regions with a similar context. This project period will be used to gain valuable market feedback through community engagement and the established methods of Smart Villages Research Group to understand and define the real needs of the local farms and communities and use this information for design revisions before future commercial rollout and continued operation.

The project will be executed with a local tertiary training centre, STREEC, aimed at equipping Eswatini youth with technical skills in renewable energy and entrepreneurship. Small commercial farms will be chosen for initial sites within a 100km radius of the training centre for ease of monitoring, training, and engagement hubs for wider groups of low income farmers to introduce the technology and understand the specific needs and value to the community. Innovation will be largely focused on technology adoption and developing a viable and sustainable business model.