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Daraja Kenya
"Daraja" is a Swahili word meaning "Bridge". Daraja Kenya for Community Development is an NGO registered in Norway whose officials are both Kenyans and Norwegians. The organization engages a holistic approach for community development. It is working together with Community Based Organizations (CBOs) in Kenya. We are currently engaged in biogas technology promotion projects and other environmental projects. We have already successfully launched a biogas pilot project in Thika.
Out of common interest to address the environmental issues in Kenya, and to create an organization that can effectively help broaden the adoption of this technology, we organized ourselves into setting up this initiative.
We are cooperating with research communities in both Norway and Kenya. We have established a cooperation and dialogue with Bioforsk in Norway, Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI) and Egerton University in Kenya to gain support of the direction of our plans and advice on how to proceed. Furthermore we realize the long term value of building similar relationships with both Norwegian and Kenyan institutions that have interests that are aligned with ours.
Based on the enthusiasm and demand witnessed in Thika, we intend to install and launch similar digesters in twenty high potential districts identified in Kenya.
Biogas
Biogas has been around since the late 19th century and in Kenya since the late 1950s. The uptake of the technology has however been low in many places and so is in Kenya. There are several historical reasons for this, but as technology has improved, costs have been reduced, benefits have been documented, we would have hoped for a different scenario. However, that not being the case, we believe one of the main reasons is the lack of farmer involvement. For any technology to succeed, the involvement and support of the end user of any perceived benefits is important. That is what Daraja Kenya is doing.
Furthermore, as the world population is increasing, our finite resources are getting scarce and the pressure on local and global environment is getting more intense by the day, we are facing huge challenges as a global community. There is no silver bullet that will magically solve these problems. Biogas technology for small scale farmers may however help ease this pressure in two ways:
1. Reduced emissions. In Kenya the main reason for this will be the use of gas from biological material for cooking instead of using charcoal/wood based fuel.
2. More productive farming land. Another product from the biogas digestion process is slurry that acts as a better fertilizer than manure or composted manure.
In addition, the need to supplement the government of Kenya's policy on the promotion of renewable energy, which includes biogas, as outlined in the Energy Act 2006, has brought about a renewed enthusiasm for the formation of the organization.
We are therefore an organization that has been formed by people who have come together with a common objective and are cooperating to achieve it. It is an organization providing services aimed at the increased adoption of the renewable energy technology by farmers in Kenya and working together with the communities and other stakeholders to initiate and implement projects aimed at the same goal.
"Daraja" is a Swahili word meaning "Bridge". Daraja Kenya for Community Development is an NGO registered in Norway whose officials are both Kenyans and Norwegians. The organization engages a holistic approach for community development. It is working together with Community Based Organizations (CBOs) in Kenya. We are currently engaged in biogas technology promotion projects and other environmental projects. We have already successfully launched a biogas pilot project in Thika.
Out of common interest to address the environmental issues in Kenya, and to create an organization that can effectively help broaden the adoption of this technology, we organized ourselves into setting up this initiative.
We are cooperating with research communities in both Norway and Kenya. We have established a cooperation and dialogue with Bioforsk in Norway, Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI) and Egerton University in Kenya to gain support of the direction of our plans and advice on how to proceed. Furthermore we realize the long term value of building similar relationships with both Norwegian and Kenyan institutions that have interests that are aligned with ours.
Based on the enthusiasm and demand witnessed in Thika, we intend to install and launch similar digesters in twenty high potential districts identified in Kenya.
Biogas
Biogas has been around since the late 19th century and in Kenya since the late 1950s. The uptake of the technology has however been low in many places and so is in Kenya. There are several historical reasons for this, but as technology has improved, costs have been reduced, benefits have been documented, we would have hoped for a different scenario. However, that not being the case, we believe one of the main reasons is the lack of farmer involvement. For any technology to succeed, the involvement and support of the end user of any perceived benefits is important. That is what Daraja Kenya is doing.
Furthermore, as the world population is increasing, our finite resources are getting scarce and the pressure on local and global environment is getting more intense by the day, we are facing huge challenges as a global community. There is no silver bullet that will magically solve these problems. Biogas technology for small scale farmers may however help ease this pressure in two ways:
1. Reduced emissions. In Kenya the main reason for this will be the use of gas from biological material for cooking instead of using charcoal/wood based fuel.
2. More productive farming land. Another product from the biogas digestion process is slurry that acts as a better fertilizer than manure or composted manure.
In addition, the need to supplement the government of Kenya's policy on the promotion of renewable energy, which includes biogas, as outlined in the Energy Act 2006, has brought about a renewed enthusiasm for the formation of the organization.
We are therefore an organization that has been formed by people who have come together with a common objective and are cooperating to achieve it. It is an organization providing services aimed at the increased adoption of the renewable energy technology by farmers in Kenya and working together with the communities and other stakeholders to initiate and implement projects aimed at the same goal.
