Project Jhabua

We are solving the problem of unavailability of clean fuel to tribal people due to which they have to use wood and cow dung cakes as fuel which contributes to both deforestation and indoor smoke .Setting up a Biogas Plant is a plausible solution. It is providing them a source of clean fuel. On scaling it, we can not only provide a source of clean fuel to people living in remote areas but also we can make them self sustainable as the by-product of biogas plants i.e. slurry can be used as manure which will increase soil productivity and increase their agricultural produce. It will also solve the problem of smoke caused by unclean fuels.

Specific problem is the lack of clean fuel sources for tribal people due to which they have to use other conventional sources like fuelwood and cow dung which results in deforestation and indoor smoke. Conventional sources of fuel for cooking pose serious health issues, especially for women and children. The long exposure to smoke which is 5 hrs/day causes the death of around 5,00,000 individuals per year and about 3 years of a shortened life. 217 million tonnes of firewood is consumed per year in India which leads to environmental degradation.

Our solution is setting up a biogas plant to provide a cleaner fuel source. We will set up a biogas plant in the household of tribal people who have sufficient amounts of cow dung and water. We will be asking the people to provide the cow dung and water to feed our biogas plant and in return they will be getting biogas:Clean Fuel and we will provide them biogas slurry and they will be composting it and then we will take that slurry and sell that provide them the monetary benefits.

We are working to improve the lives of the Bhel Tribe which is India's largest tribe. We are working at Jhabua in Madhya Pradesh , India. This tribe doesn't have access to clean fuel and depends upon the fuelwood and cow dung cakes for fuel which produces a lot of smoke which is very harmful for health as well as the environment. Also the collection of fuel wood causes deforestation as trees are getting cut for fuelwoods. For understanding their needs, we empathize with the community. We did regular field visits , conducted surveys,organized public gatherings and attended their cultural programmes to understand them properly and their needs also. Our biogas plant will not only provide them a clean fuel but also some added benefits like biogas slurry which can be used by them to increase their agricultural produce.

The Challenge is the Resilient Ecosystem and our problem is  the lack of clean fuel sources for tribal people due to which they have to use other conventional sources like fuelwood and cow dung which results in deforestation and indoor smoke. Population we are serving don't have access to cleaner fuels but they have all the necessary things like cow dung and water which can be used to provide them with biogas.

We would be deploying our solution by installing various biogas plants in selected locations of the Jhabua district. The community that would be using our product would be the Tribals living across the Jhabua district who have been using the traditional energy sources for their needs for a long time. Our solution of using biogas fuels would provide them with an alternative energy source for their needs that would have a better impact on their lives. Our business model would be the revenue that we would get as the surplus slurry would be sold directly via B2B and B2C channels, which would provide farmers a secondary source of income throughout the year.

Unique aspect of our project is that we are providing biogas free of cost to farmers and also setting up a Bioslurry market chain . Slurry produced would be utilised to increase the outreach of organic farming practices as well as enhance the process of vermicomposting, which would not only enrich the soil and water table but also provide farmers an opportunity to sell their produce at higher rates in the organic market. Remainder slurry would be sold directly via B2B and B2C channels, which would provide farmers a secondary source of income throughout the year. Construction of biogas plants, setting up of the entire slurry chain from procurement to delivery would involve the local men and women of the villages, thereby generating employment at their native place and also contributing to community empowerment.

Current impact- 6-10 households i.e, 36-60 lives

Impact in 1 year- more than 100 households i.e, more than 3000 lives (including slurry market)

Impact in 5 years-  30,000+  households in 130+ villages in Jhabua

No poverty by ensuring that the debt on the farmer who have installed the Biogas Plant gets payed away , and providing secondary source of income to farmers throughout the year .

Good Health and Well Being is ensured by reducing the carbon emissions from chulha ( traditional and conventional way of cooking ) .

Gender Equality as the plant and vermicomposting process will be looked after by women . 

Waste management of the cattle waste is an indicator for sanitation .

Affordable clean energy providing free gas .

Providing employment opportunities ensures economic growth .

Aiming to set a sustainable business model around the vermicompost produced . 

A team of 3 college students initiated the solution and it has been carried forward by 6 more college students, so a team of 9 college students are currently working on the solution. Since all of us are students, we don’t work full time for the project.

Our team has students who have skills in varied backgrounds. Since all of us are B.Tech students, we have good practical exposure which helps us to analyse various aspects of our project better. 

Some of our team members have also taken courses in sustainable energy sources, which has helped our team in getting new insights. 

Also, some of our team members live quite close to Jhabua which makes it easier for us to implement the ground work even in COVID scenarios. 

Part of our team consists of 2nd year and 3rd year students, who have been a part of Enactus IIT Delhi since a long time, and hence have experience in lot of aspects like crowdfunding, pitching and basic ideation, which is the common requirement for any project initiated under Enactus IIT Delhi. 

Also, our team members are empathetic which proved to be a huge advantage for us when it came down to understanding the issues faced by the tribals in Jhabua. Being able to connect heart to heart with a new community is a tough task, and our team was able to achieve it. 

Our team also has students who are quite interested in designing , which gives us an edge whenever we are working on publicity and presentation skills.

Our team is quite diverse in terms of ideas, values, interests, culture and gender. Having this much diversity helps us in thinking out of the box and also helps us in scrutinizing each decision that we make. The leadership skills possessed by our team members helps balance these varied views, and assists us in landing on a single conclusion to any discussion.

Solve Membership will help Project Jhabua become a leader in social impact and will enable us to support cutting-edge innovation.

Legal partnerships for some document 

Branding partnerships to market our product also

Sales and supply chain collaborations for  selling our product and reaching market .

We wish to partner with organizations which can purchase compost from us such as nurseries, hydroponics etc. We are already under collaboration with an on ground NGO Shivganga which has been functional in Jhabua since past 25 years and gained the trust on local people. On later stages we aim to expand and scale up our project at different locations and thereby wish to collaborate with agencies with similar vision as ours.

Project Jhabua is a community-based rural empowerment project, following the principle of parmarth (highest good of others). We aim at sustainable development of community by providing them a clean fuel free of cost and teaching them the skills for making compost from the slurry obtained from biogas plant which they will use in their farms for getting better yield through organic farming.

  Project Jhabua primarily deals with the problem of Indore smoke. Conventional sources of fuel for cooking pose serious health issues, especially for women and young girls. The long exposure to smoke which is 5 hrs./day causes the death of around 5,00,000 individuals per year and about 3 years of a shortened life. Setting up of biogas plant besides providing clean fuel and preventing respiratory problems due to indoor smoke in women will also save their time which they used to spend out collecting firewood. This will provide women more time to take care of children and themselves, increased self time could also be invested in making handicrafts or some other works which could be a source of earning for women. Young girls would be able to go school and spend more time on their studies.

Using biogas instead of firewood will lead in reduced carbon emissions and  would discourage deforestation. Usage of natural manure prepared by farmers themselves in place of chemical fertilizers  will help replenishing the soil and reduce carbon footprint.