Rwanda’s fourteen prisons have introduced bio-gas burners, 75% powered by the inmates’ own waste. The burners need one thing – a reliable supply of waste – and jails can give exactly that.
The bio-gas is produced by combining the inmates’ waste with water and cow dung from the jail’s farm cows. The prisoners’ diet isn’t rich enough to produce top quality gas on its own but… just add cow dung and you’ve got premium gas! The gas is created and stored in a series of twelve digesters in a field outside the prison walls. Each digester holds 100 cubic metres of bio-gas. The prisoners maintain the digesters themselves, regularly checking for leaks and faults.
Head over to the BBC website for more photos and info about Rwanda’s poo-powered prisons.
LINK: BBC News Africa (photo by Graham Halliday)
