ANNUAL REPORT 2007
TECHNOLOGY INFORMATICS DESIGN ENDEAVOUR
Bangalore
TIDE - An Overview
It
is my privilege to write this overview for Report 2007 of TIDE for the
first time. TIDE was registered as a not for profit society a little over
15 years ago. The objectives of TIDE were (i) to identify scientific
concepts and prototype technologies having potential for large scale
replication and to undertake their product development and evaluation (ii)
to carry out activities for propagation of technologies (iii) to promote
application of design concepts in product, process and technique
development.
We
at TIDE have put in relentless effort to adapt technology emanating from
research institutions to suit the needs of rural communities and
demonstrating their commercial viability. We have over the years
identified over 50 ideas for further development and have succeeded in
demonstrating technical and commercial viability for about 15 of them.
Rural entrepreneurs are engaged in the dissemination of these products. We
estimate that the total turnover of TIDE entrepreneurs is Rs 70 million
and the entrepreneurs have made profits of about 10 million. We also have
reason to believe that there are about 10,000 users of TIDE products.
Stoves installed by TIDE are annually conserving 29,000 tons of biomass
and have prevented the release of 52,200 tons of CO2 per year.
We
are also constantly innovating and continue to develop new products that
we believe would also have user acceptability. However we have reached out
to a very small percentage of potential users (perhaps even less than 3%).
As the work of TIDE is attracting attention, we are under increasing
pressure to evolve strategies for rapid and large scale replication, an
activity that we had consciously stayed away from. But we feel that the
time had now come to do so. With more than 10,000 devices in the field,
the risks associated with new technology are now largely abated, It is
time to move to a franchisee model of technology dissemination to expand
product reach and further enhance the economic and environmental benefits.
We would need to work towards the development of a business plan, slight
re-engineering of the equipment (for on site assembly instead of onsite
construction), identifying production centres, defining quality control
parameters and their capacity building, evolving a new organisation
structure, facilitating loans for production centres. Additionally we
would also initiate brand building for our product range
In
addition to these ambitious plans TIDE continues to attract project
funding for projects that require technology development, demonstration
and dissemination. This year we have been working on projects that would
demonstrate the utility and explore replication strategies of three new
products that we had developed last year – the fuel efficient jaggery
stove, the low capacity brick kiln and the fuel efficient textile stove.
We have also committed to field testing a cross flow turbine in a remote
village electrification project in the western ghats.
For
the first time this year we have moved slightly away from our core
competence of biomass combustion technologies and water harvesting and
ventured out to explore technology issues in sustainable agriculture. The
YSEI project supported by the Global Knowledge Partnership showed that
women self help groups willingly come forward to donate a part of their
produce (grown using precision farming techniques in green houses) for
enhancing the nutrition content in school mid day meal schemes. The
potential for social transformation and scope for replication of this
project is very high.
TIDE
is also gaining competence in training and I am confident that in the
course of the next couple of years it would emerge as a competent
organization to impart training in energy technologies, rural
entrepreneurship and gender & livelihoods.
The
5 member Council of Management of TIDE has three new members with Dr.
Sharadchandra Lele of CISED and Dr. R. Shailaja Co-ordinator CEE south
actively participating in the new direction that TIDE has committed itself
to. I wish to acknowledge the great contribution of the Founder Chairman
Dr. S. Rajagopalan who has steered TIDE through 15 eventful years.
We have profited enormously from his vision and the direction in which he
has taken the organization
The
future is full of excitement, promise, some amount of stress and a lot of
hard work and we look forward to it.
N
V Krishna
Chairman
Community
based sustainable water management in a micro-watershed
(Supported by
Science & Society Division, Department of Science & Technology,
Government of India)
The
attempt of this project was to understand the water demand in a peri-urban
area, its changing nature from rural agricultural based demand to one of
urban residential/commercial demand and to put in place strategies of
managing water in a decentralized, participatory manner so as to make the
natural resource available in a sustainable fashion especially to a
section of society that has suffered from the effects of urbanization
without the advantages of the same.
The
project area is spread in two villages namely Nimbekayapura and
Bendiganahalli, Bangalore East taluk in Bangalore Urban district. These
two villages are in different stages of transition from rural to urban and
therefore the water consumption patterns were different. Nimbekayapura
village was experiencing drinking water scarcity. Most of the hand pumps
(borewells) were not working, some due to the lowering of water table and
a few due to mechanical problems. In addition, the geo-electrical survey
data showed the groundwater conditions in the village are poor. Also the
rainwater falling on the roof area was flowing into the drain. In
Bendiganalli village, there were more than 100 agriculture borewells being
used for irrigation. The water level has gone down in the area due to
unscientific methods of exploitation of groundwater, interference of the
wells (in some cases the distance is less than 10 feet), poor recharge
conditions, poor management of water resources. This has led to drying up
of several shallow borewells. Also, further drilling of new borewells is
adding to the problem. These problems have created the scarcity of water
and also affecting the livelihood.
In
this scenario of livelihood insecurity and scarcity of natural resources,
there is a need for utilizing existing occupational skill sets while at
the same time providing options for optimum usage of available cultivable
land and conservation of precious water resources. Rainwater harvesting,
groundwater recharging, greenhouse horticulture and treating / recycling
or reusing wastewater provides a viable solution to this pressing need.
Rooftop
rainwater harvesting systems were introduced and installed in 12 locations
including the school building, community hall, Anganwadi and 9 individual
houses. The school students and village community are using harvested
water for non-potable purposes. The local people have been trained in
designing and implementing rooftop rainwater harvesting systems. The other
houses are also harvesting rainwater from the roof area. The individual
houses were able to harvest rainwater more than 50,000 liters per year.
The project study reveals that rooftop RWH system is the most preferable
source of water for communities. As per the discussion with villagers,
they expressed satisfaction with RWH system, this clearly indicates the
acceptance of the system. The important benefit of the system to the users
is water availability at their doorstep with safe water supplies close to
the house, women & children are able to spend less time in collecting
or queuing for water. Women have benefited the most with less physical
stress of fetching water from distance source day and night. Thus the
saved time can be used in caring their children and for other economic
activities. The rooftop RWH system reveals that poor people get more water
in less time, better health, income and sense of social empowerment. A
comparative analysis of rainwater and groundwater indicates harvested
rainwater is better than the groundwater. Awareness on water utilization,
conservation, and management was done through display of posters, street
play and distribution of pamphlets in the project area.
The
project intervention – construction of water harvesting structures such
as farm pond, recharge well, borewell recharging etc - in Bendiganahalli
village has shown that there is an increase in the groundwater level and
also improvement in the groundwater quality.
The
project has demonstrated rooftop rainwater harvesting and groundwater
recharging as important methods in augmenting the groundwater resources.
Greenhouse cultivation has shown the new method of cultivation and helped
farmers in enhancing their economic status in small and marginal lands.
The greenhouse with rainwater harvesting and drip irrigation system has
created a demonstration site for other farmers to take up improved
agriculture practices.
TIDE
has carried out the experimental studies on grey water treatment options
and collected relevant data. The study shows that the treated water can be
used for irrigation and needs further research to finalize the technology.
Low
cost charcoal making from waste biomass and its effective utilization
(Young scientist
scheme of the Science and Society division of the Department of Science
and Technology)
The
project was conceived as an R & D project for local level value
addition to biomass which is the major source of energy and abundantly
available in rural areas. The energy potential of the biomass remains
largely untapped. The project developed charcoal makers that cleanly and
efficiently convert biomass into useful clean commercial energy
(charcoal). Considering the gradual acceptance of biomass gasifiers the
project also developed designs for charcoal gasifiers anticipating their
acceptance as well. If biomass is converted to producer gas in a two step
process – conversion to charcoal in the first step and its gasification
in the second step then the gasification process becomes simplified and
the size, complexity and cost of gasification equipment would come down.
Several new applications for gasifiers could thus be conceptualized.
The
charcoal making experiments were conducted in the premises of Gramavidya,
a partner NGO of the project, NGO located at Sidaganahally
village in Bangalore rural district. The charcoal making demonstration
unit was set up in a sericulture site in Vijayapura, Bangalore rural
district. The charcoal gasifier was tested in the premises of R.V.
Engineering College, Bangalore. The following were the prototypes
developed under the project:
-
Charcoal kiln (8 kg of wood per batch)
-
Charcoal kiln (40 kg of wood per batch)
-
Charcoal kiln (80 kg of wood per batch)
-
Charcoal Gasifier (1 kg / batch)
-
Charcoal Gasifier (6 kg / hr)
The
technology development phase consisted of developing designs of charcoal
kilns of different capacities, finding productive use of the energy
content in the volatiles and developing & testing the designs of
charcoal gasifiers. Considering the limited budget of the project, further
work would have to be done to adapt the prototypes to specific
applications. The charcoal kiln was field tested in a silk reeling site
where there is need for process heat for stifling of cocoons (which is
provided by the burning volatiles) and for charcoal (for drying the
freshly reeled silk yarn).
The
project was done under the supervision and active involvement of Prof K S
Jagadish, Co-Investigator, Professor, PG studies, Department of Civil
Engineering, RV College of Engineering, Bangalore and Chairman of
Gramavidya, a NGO located near Bangalore. The charcoal gasifier was tested
by final year engineering students as a part of their project work.
Technical support and linkages were also forged with Dr. Sree Kumar,
faculty Chemical Engineering department Karnataka Regional Engineering
College (KREC).
The
special features of the project are:
The
development and testing of new designs of charcoal kilns. Charcoal has
conventionally been made in large kilns where about 2 tons of wood is
converted into charcoal. This leads to deforestation, poor quality of
charcoal and air pollution because of release of unburned volatiles and
carbon monoxide. The adoption of the new designs of charcoal kilns would
enable charcoal making in small lots from twigs and other agro residues by
small users of charcoal themselves. This would result in a lower cost of
charcoal to the small users of charcoal. It would also create a new
livelihood opportunity in rural areas especially in cold hilly regions
where charcoal is used for room heating. The quality and calorific value
of the charcoal produced in these kilns is also good.
The
charcoal kilns have demonstrated that it is possible to productively
utilize the heat content in the volatiles. New applications for
utilization of thermal heat can thus be conceived. Additionally the
provision of the heat exchanger in the charcoal kiln would ensure
extraction of the maximum amount of heat, thus increasing the heat
utilization efficiency of the operations.
The
design of a charcoal gasifier is an important development currently for
rural thermal energy applications. In course of time, with further
developments when the producer gas obtained would be of engine quality,
the charcoal gasifier would be a clean and useful equipment for several
electrical applications as well. Some of the applications that can be
conceptualized at this stage are (i) charcoal made from bagasse could be
used for powering crushing units (ii) charcoal made from agro residues
could be coupled with IP sets and used for water lifting. Several
operations could thus be made grid free
Energy
conservation in small sector tea processing units in south India
(A
PDF phase of the medium sized project of the UNDP-GEF)
This
year saw the completion of the project development fund phase of the
project and its approval by the GEFCEO. The procedure for project approval
was long and required a country endorsement from the MoEF, Govt. of India,
technical clearance under GEF-3, re-endorsement by the GEF empowered
committee, clearance by GEF Secretariat and GEF CEO approval.
The
implementation arrangements for the project have been worked out. The Tea
Board under the Ministry of Commerce would be the executing agency of the
project and TIDE would be the implementing agency. After the project
approval, the detailed project document and plan for the first year of the
project has been developed. The project is awaiting signatures from
relevant Ministries for its commencement.
The
objective of the project is to reduce energy consumption in small sector
tea processing units in south India thereby restricting GHG emissions. It
also aims at removing barriers and developing replicable strategies for
energy efficiency through (i) awareness creation among the target sector
(ii) elimination of financial barriers (iii) adoption of EE / RE equipment
and (iv) sharing and replicating knowledge and learning. The project would
establish that 30 factories in south India would have adopted energy
efficient equipment and practices and would cumulatively save 55,800 tons
of direct CO2.
Fluorosis mitigation through
technical intervention and community participation in Karnataka
(Woman
scientist scheme of the Department of Science and Technology)
Secondary data collected
from the Public Health and Engineering Department, Karnataka showed that
about 1594 taluks in 23 districts of Karnataka are affected by excess
fluoride (more than 1.5 mg / liter) in drinking water. Consumption of
fluoride contaminated water causes fluorosis, a disease manifested by
mottling of teeth (dental fluorosis) in mild cases and changes in bone
structure (skeletal fluorisis), ossification of tendons and ligaments and
neurological damage in severe cases.
This project of TIDE
sought to study the effect of technical interventions for fluoride
mitigation. Kittapanadoddi villages, Kanakpura taluk, Bangalore rural
district was identified as the project area. A baseline survey conducted
to collect population and land profile data showed that the village had a
population of 278 mainly belonged to the scheduled caste and other weaker
sections. The main occupation of the people was agriculture and silk
reeling. Geologically the region consisted of peninsular geniss’s and
granites. The only drinking water source in the village – a borewell,
had fluoride level in the range of 2.45 mg / litre. The average water
consumption per capita per day was 42 litres.
The project began with a
societal intervention. An awareness campaign on fluorosis was conducted
using posters, banners, cultural events etc where every one including the
panchayat member participated. A dental check up was conducted in the
village and this showed that 93% of the male population, 79% of the female
population and 86% of children below 10 years were affected.
The technical intervention
in the project was the introduction of activated alumina filters in 50
households. The filter consisted of 3 kg of activated alumina and a micro
filter in the top container with a perforated plate. The bottom container
collected the filtered water. The storage capacity of the filter was 10
liters. Water samples before and after filtration were collected
fortnightly and analyzed for fluoride content. Data about the daily water
flow through the filter was also collected. The life of the filter was
thus established. Local women were trained in backwashing of the filter.
Linkages for regular filter recharge were also established with MYTRY the
organization that provided the filters
An alternate technique for
reducing the fluoride content was artificial recharge of borewells by roof
top water harvesting. This was demonstrated in the village school building
as an option for fluoride mitigation. The project has shown that there are
techniques for overcoming consumption of fluoride contaminated drinking
water which however should be carefully strategized and introduced.
Core support
(Science and
Society division of the Department of Science and Technology)
The core support is a
grant that has been given to TIDE to explore new ideas and carry out
research in the areas of relevance to rural areas. In the past years TIDE
has successfully used the core grant to develop new products. The Low
Capacity Brick Kiln, fuel efficient jaggery making were some of the new
products developed in the core grant. Their dissemination is being studied
through different projects. This year also saw TIDE developing new
products. The products that TIDE developed this year wear the tava stove
and the large water heater. Additionally TIDE used the core support to
understand issues relating to women, energy and livelihoods and for
capacity building of TIDE staff.
During field visits to
various project sites TIDE realized that street food was a big business in
small towns and along highways and these units normally used firewood as
their energy source. Newspaper articles reported that in the state of
Tamil Nadu there were about 3 lakh road side eateries. Many of them used
prepared dosas, kerala parottas and omlettes throughout the day and used
dedicated stoves for the same. TIDE developed designs of tava stoves and
field tested them in Kumarapalyam district of Tamil Nadu. The stove is
working satisfactorily with uniform temperature throughout the tava and
the dosas are coming out uniformly crisp. In the demo unit site dosa
making consumed 82 kg of firewood everyday. The new design has reduced the
firewood consumption to 43 kg for the same delivery. TIDE is now engaged
in the standardization of the design.
Another new product that
TIDE is developing is the fuel efficient biomass fired 450 liter water
heater. In the past TIDE had developed designs of the 100 liter water
heater and there are over 1000 users of the same. There has been a request
for increasing the capacity of the same and it is expected that hotels,
marriage halls hostels and other institutions would use the same. TIDE has
developed a design and the same is under fabrication.
In addition to developing
new products, TIDE focused its attention on interacting with women’s
groups to understand their hesitation and problems associated with
livelihood activities especially concerning energy and livelihoods. TIDE
conducted unstructured meetings with women to understand why training
programs meant for livelihoods are very well attended but these trainings
are never followed up with initiating income generation activities.
Several issues came up in the discussion and more follow up meetings and
documentation of the same has been planned. With regard to women’s
energy needs discussions were held around the theme of practical energy
needs, productive energy needs and energy needs to safeguard women’s
strategic interests. The women rated their practical energy needs (access
to lighting, domestic appliances, TVs, fans etc.) as their greatest need.
There was inadequate understanding of energy as a facility that can
safeguard their strategic interests (safety, education etc.)
TIDE also used the core
grant to build capacity of their staff. Staff of TIDE were deputed for
training programs on methods for testing the indoor air pollution loads,
water harvesting methods and processes, women’s entrepreneurship and
developing communication skills for communicating with grass root women.
School and community horticulture enterprise
(Supported
by Youth Social Enterprise Initiative )
The School and Community
Horticulture enterprise, using a participative implementation model
facilitates an innovative process in which the school and the local
community, will ensure in a self -sustainable manner, the provision of the
required vegetable nutrition for the mid–day meal scheme through local
horticulture in green-house while at the same time creating an alternate
source of income through sale of high value horticultural produce in urban
markets.
The Hindiskere government
primary school in Tiptur taluk was identified to implement the pilot
project. There are approximately 85-90 students form classes 1 to 6. The
school and SDMC members were willing to buy the vegetables from the
enterprise. An existing Sreelakshmidevi Swa Sahaya Sangh - women’s Self
Help Group (SHG) in the village was ready to participate in the project
and run the polyhouse enterprise. Land for the poly house (200 Sq.m) has
been identified 2 km away from the school in an adjoining Shantanhalli
village.
The design and cultivation
plan of a polyhouse was developed in consultation with PI of PFDC,
GKVK, UAS, Bangalore. A polyhouse with 20 m length and 11 m width
covering an area of 200 sq m. was constructed Roof of the structure is
covered with polyethylene film, and sides are covered with insect net. The
roof of the polyhouse was used for harvesting rainwater and later used for
irrigation. The drip irrigation system was installed in the polyhouse. One
hp motor is being used for irrigation.
At present the group is
supplying about 70 gm of vegetables per day per child to the GHPS,
Hindiskere from June 2007 onwards. The school has been paying an amount
equal to the budget allotted by the Government for vegetables to the
enterprise. It however falls short of the requirement and additional
amount Rs 35 – 40 /- is being spent for the purchase of required
quantity of vegetables (about 6 Kg / day).
Red and Yellow capsicum
were grown in 100 Sq.m area and Tomato were grown in another 100 Sq.m area
in the greenhouse. Market linkages for the sale of high value horticulture
produce have been explored. The capsicum was sold to Reliance outlet in
Bangalore. The total yield of tomato was about 1600 Kg and Capsicum was
about 600 Kg. The harvesting of capsicum and tomato generated an income of
about Rs 26,000 in six month period. The project has generated scientific,
engineering and economic data.
The pilot project of the
School and Community Horticulture Enterprise has created interest among
other schools in the region, after the awareness meetings. Farmers from
the neighbouring villages have shown interest in replicating the
greenhouse cultivation.
Software (ICT component)
has been developed to generate a horticultural plan in a polyhouse for the
supply of vegetables for school children. The software enables this
planning using data on rainfall, harvested rainfall, crop water
requirements, crop yield, duration etc, as well as information of the
school (school location, strength). The present version of the software is
basic in nature. As more empirical data is generated from the project, it
will be used to further build and enhance the software.
There has not been any
significant increase in attendance in the school. However, there have been
positive social impacts of this project. The project has resulted in
activating a sense of social responsibility in the village community.
Parents of the school children have begun to contribute some part of their
farm produce to the school for the mid-day meals. Thus, while increasing
the nutrition for children, the SHG is simultaneously earning income.
GHG emission reductions through use of energy efficient technologies
by textile processing units in Tamilnadu
(Supported
by UNDP-GEF under its Small Grants Program)
The textile processing
units located in seven districts of Tamilnadu use firewood and fossil
fuels for meeting their thermal energy requirements. Most of the small and
medium industries use firewood that is harvested in an unsustainable
manner. The units burn the wood in conventional stoves that are energy
inefficient. This results in higher consumption of wood, higher quantity
of GHG emissions and an unhealthy working environment. This project has
the goal of creating sustainable mechanisms for the reduction of GHG
emissions from textile processing units in Tamilnadu. The expected project
outputs include the development of a sustainable network to promote and
disseminate energy efficient technologies for the textile processing
units, and installing energy efficient stoves and solar systems.
The project activities
focused on demonstrating the improved devices, developing an
entrepreneurial network and implementing market development activities for
generating demand. A project information centre was opened in
Komarapalayam (Namakkal District), market development personnel and
technical staff recruited. Improved, energy-efficient stoves were
installed in three units and the local entrepreneur trained in
construction. Market development activities were carried out by organizing
meetings with the dyeing and bleaching associations at Erode and
Komarapalayam. Personal visits were made by the market development
personnel to meet prospective clients and obtain orders. Advertisements
were placed in local newspapers to provide information and generate
enquiries. Consequently, by December 2007, 26 improved stoves have been
installed during the project with client contribution.
The business environment
in the project area has not been congenial for investment in non-movable,
high-value assets such as solar water heating systems. Therefore, the
project has explored alternate renewable energy solutions to reduce
emissions from the dyeing units. The project has developed energy
efficient, biomass-fired water heaters for heating of water to
temperatures that are required by the dyeing units. These water heaters
are movable from one location to another. They save about 60% of biomass
(as compared to consumption levels in conventional stoves) and are
compatible with the operations of the units. We have demonstrated 100
litres and 500 litres water heaters in the project area and the response
has been encouraging. The improved water heaters would reduce emissions by
atleast 60% as compared to emissions from the existing stoves.
The successful activities
under the project have encouraged us to promote our products in the
neighbouring district of Karur. The project is highly replicable in other
regions of the state and country due to the prevalence of biomass-burning
devices for water heating.
Case study on Wastewater disposal practices and likely treatment
options in Textile processing units in Tamil Nadu
(Supported
by Arghyam Foundation, Bangalore)
TIDE has carried out a
detailed study on the effluent discharged by textile processing and to
find economically viable options for treatment or safe disposal of the
effluent in Coimbatore district. The main objectives of the study is to
collect data on the effluent load being discharged from textile processing
units for the various operations requiring water
(bleaching & dyeing), to understand the current treatment and
disposal practices and the implication of the same on ground and surface
water. Also, to review the technology options for reduction of pollution
load to the limits recommended by the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board
and to document findings and share them among a larger audience so that
recommendations and conclusions can be drawn from the case study.
TIDE interacted with
various organizations like Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB),
Textiles Committee, Ministry of Textiles, in Tiruppur and Coimbatore,
Dyers association for the problems envisaged by the industries.
Subsequently, TIDE interacted with experts who have studied the problem
over the years in the Madras School of Economics and technology providers
in India.
There are 729 dyeing and
bleaching units in Tiruppur generating 87 million liters of wastewater per
day, 50 units in Coimbatore town generating 8 million liters of effluent
per day, and around 10 units in Mettupalayam generating 7 million liters
of effluent per day. High concentration of Total Dissolved Solids and
Chlorides persist in ground and surface water in spite of having Common
Effluent Treatment Plant and Individual Effluent Treatment Plant.
TIDE has studied the
current practice of water usage, effluent treatment, sludge storage and
disposal is not sustainable and would cause damage to the ecosystem while
threatening the livelihoods of the farmers in the vicinity of the textile
units. Reverse Osmosis, is the technology option recommended by the TNPCB
for zero effluent discharge and recycling of water. The financial issues
involved in its adoption need to be further understood. The problem of
safe storage and disposal of sludge remains and has not been addressed
adequately. If effective management of sludge is not practiced then the
investment in effluent treatment and ensuring adherence to TNPCB would be
nullified.
Reverse Osmosis has been
identified as a technologically suitable option for treating textile
industry effluent from large and medium sized units. Large units have
invested in individual ETP’s and medium scale units have invested in
Common ETPs. However, no technology option seems to be forthcoming for
effluent treatment from small units. This problem would become acute and
there has to be technology development effort now for techno-economically
viable options to emerge in the near future.
TIDE recommended options
(like Reverse osmosis) have to be formed for safe reuse and recycle of
sludge. Dyeing and bleaching units outside Tiruppur are also polluting
ground and surface water. The TNPCB should address water pollution issues
in smaller dyeing clusters as well as to ensure that a Tiruppur like
situation is not created in other clusters.
Pilot project implementation & field testing of gasification
stoves
(Supported
by The Asia Regional Cook Stove Program (ARECOP))
The project involves the
field implementation to evaluate the performance of the gasifier stoves.
The stove was initially
tested at a hotel in Gudemaranahalli, near Bangalore. Though the stove was
efficient, the user did not accept it, as it was not practical. The user
did not prefer constantly feeding the fuel and also encountered problems
in getting wood pieces the size required by the gasifier stove.
Discussions and
demonstrations were done for institutions and large cook stove users in a
number of identified locations in and around Bangalore. However, as these
users were using LPG as fuel, which they can afford and is readily
available, they were not willing to shift to cooking with wood. Since the
wood had to be prepared, this was also seen as a drawback of the stove.
As LPG is easily available
in Bangalore, it was decided that urban users would not be receptive to
the stove. Hence, locations in semi-urban areas were considered. The stove
is currently being tested at Kumarapalayam town in Tamilnadu in a factory
mess. The owner is happy with the stove. The data is being collected for
performance analysis and evaluation.
Bioreactors for Biogas from Organic Fraction of Canteen Waste
TIDE and Center for
Sustainable Technologies (CST), IISC, Bangalore, have been involved in
setting up bioreactors for canteen waste. TIDE has constructed bioreactors
for canteen waste at various places.
The bioreactors operate by
degrading the organic matter and thus producing biogas. It is a two-stage
process where in the organic matter is broken down into simple organic
substances with the release of carbon di oxide and methane.
The bioreactor at ISTRAC is a 50 kg capacity with a floating type
gasholder. Canteen waste that is fed is converted into biogas and this gas
is used for heating milk, preparing tea and boiling water.
Lanco is a very
environment conscious industry and wanted to create an infrastructure to
treat their organic waste produced from the canteen. TIDE has constructed
two identical bioreactors each of 50 kg capacity. The entire set up is
ready and the production of gas has to be started for the use in kitchen.
Introduction of the improved jaggery-making stove to the jaggery-making clusters in North Karnataka.
(Supported
by Deshpande Foundation)
Jaggery
making is a major rural industry in three districts of north Karnataka –
Belgaum, Bagalkot and parts of Bijapur. It is estimated that the
present process of jaggery making consumes 500 kgs of bagasse or other
biomass per ton of jaggery made. Conventional jaggery making is energy
intensive and often the bagasse obtained after crushing sugarcane is
inadequate for making jaggery. The gap in energy need is made up by
burning other biomass fuels, often automobile tyres which is damaging to
the environment and the health of the workers in jaggery making units.
There has been no
successful, implementable research and development intervention in the
sector in India other than the combined efforts of TIDE and the Centre for
Sustainable Technologies, Indian Institute of Science. It has re-designed
the conventional two pan jaggery making stoves in Mandya region for better
fuel efficiency and bagasse conservation and the same needs to be done in
the Belgaum region where the pan sizes are larger.
This project aims to
introduce improved jaggery making stoves in the jaggery making clusters of
North Karnataka and also capacity building of entrepreneurs.Introduction
of the fuel efficient two pan jaggery making stove in the Belgaum region
would conserve about 100 –140 kgs of bagasse per day (valued at Re 0.75
– Re 1 / kg) and improve the working environment. The jaggery making
season lasts for about 150 days in a year and field data has shown that it
is possible to save 15 –20 tons of bagasse valued at Rs 15,000 –20,000
per season. The pay back period for the investment if a monetary value to
bagasse is attributed is therefore 1-2 years.
The objectives of the
project are
To demonstrate the
improved jaggery making stoves (that save fuel and time) in jaggery making
clusters of north Karnataka
To train local masons in
the construction of two pan jaggery stoves
To identify, train and
support local entrepreneurial networks with market development and
awareness building for about a year when it is expected that this
additional enterprise would become sustainable
Visits were conducted in
the project area to get an understanding of the distribution of the
jaggery units in each geographical cluster and the potential for the
introduction of the new improved stove in these areas. Visits were carried
out to the various clusters to meet the jaggery owners and to understand
their problems and needs. The owners were informed of the availability of
a better technology that saves more fuel. The interest levels of the
owners were assessed to decide on the locations for the demo units.
An awareness cum
marketing office has been opened at the APMC Yard at Gokak to serve as a
contact point.
A construction manual for
the construction of two-pan fuel-efficient stove has been developed. This
manual is a step-by-step detailed construction manual in a pictorial
format. A user manual for the effective use and maintenance has been of
the improved stove has also been developed.
Demo sites have been put
up at Parishwad and Nedagundi. The demo units are evincing a lot of
interest in the neighbourhood.
Awareness among the
jaggery unit owners towards the improved two-pan stoves is low and is
slowly increasing. Efforts are on to increase the promotion of the stove.
With the setting up of the information centre, the promotional activity
has increased for the stove. Also awareness meetings at Gokak, Rayabag and
Mugalkod evinced a lot of interest among the jaggery unit owners and
brought out issues of concern, which will help us in marketing the stove.
The project further plans
to install 3 more demo units and sell about 10 improved stoves and set up
a super entrepreneur who would manage a team of 3-4 entrepreneurs to
promote the improved jaggery stoves in the project area.
Field testing of low capacity brick kiln under different conditions
(Supported
and catalyzed under the mission mode of SSD by the Department of Science
and Technology)
This is a new project that
has been recently sanctioned (November 2007). The technology of the low
capacity brick kiln was developed jointly by Gramavidya and TIDE as a part
of the core grant activities. DST wanted to assess the receptivity to the
technology by brick makers in different parts of south India and obtain
recommendations on its further dissemination.
The rationale for the technology development and the project was
that there exists a large segment of small unorganized brick makers who
operate of slender margins because of high cost of fuel and poor quality
of bricks. There has been no technology intervention that looks at
upgrading the output or the facilities of small brick makers.
The objectives of the
project were:
To install the low
capacity brick kiln (LCBK) in 5 locations and obtain user response
To collect field data
about performance of the kiln under different conditions
To identify target users
of the LCBK and develop a dissemination plan
To identify potential
lending agencies, develop draft loan documents for potential rural
enterprises
The project activities
would involve identification of sites for field testing the LCBK, field
visits to Gramavidya by the identified brick makers, construction of the
LCBK in field sites, supervised operation and data collection. Based on
the user response the kiln design would be further modified, if required.
This would be followed by an assessment of the suitability of the kiln for
operation under different situations. The target users would be identified
and a dissemination plan developed.
TIDE is currently
interacting with a brick maker in Cuddalore district of Tamil Nadu for
installation of a brick kiln.
Electrification of Shivapur village, Karnataka by demonstration of the
Pico hydro power generation technology.
(Project
supported by the Science and Society division of the Department of Science
and Technology)
This project has recently
been sanctioned (November 2007). The objective of the project is to
provide adequate uninterrupted and reliable power to meet the requirements
of all residents in an unelectrified village. A typical unelectrified
village that has potential for hydro power is characterized by a hilly
terrain with a perennial stream in its vicinity. A pre project village
survey showed that the problems of the village are:
-
Children studying in poor lighting from kerosene lamps
-
Agriculture is the main occupation in the village. Although
there is enough water, it cannot be utilized because the terrain is hilly
and there is no power for water lifting.
-
Safety and movement within the village at night is a concern
because the village surrounding is highly wooded and there are chances of
attack by animals at night.
-
The village cannot use electrical appliances especially
television
-
There are limited opportunities for development and creation
of local wealth
The suggested
technological intervention is to use the untapped potential for hydro
power. This would be done by installation of equipment for generation of
12 kw of uninterrupted and reliable hydro electric power. Simultaneously
the community based organization would be empowered to manage the asset.
The S & T components
envisaged under the project are the installation and testing of high
efficiency cross flow turbine and data collection on the usage pattern of
power in the village. Data collection is important because typically
domestic requirement of electricity is mainly in the early morning and
late evening. Instead of shutting down the pwer packs during the day time
and late night houses the project would encourage the community to use
energy during non lighting hours for income generation. Data could also be
collected about changing life styles of people before and after
availability of power.
Currently a technical and
sociological survey in the village is in process
Development & introduction of training courses in biomass based
drying technologies
(Supported
by ETC, Netherlands)
This is a three-year project, which commenced in
March 2007.
One of the objectives of the project is to build the
capacity of TIDE staff in conducting training for the semi literate
population. The project would then apply these skills in developing
technical and enterprise building training materials and programmes for
income generation using the technology of biomass based drying. The
project would also enable the creation of 4 women’s enterprises in
biomass based drying. Enterprise using the technology of biomass based
drying has been selected because TIDE has extensive knowledge of biomass
based drying, and expects the training modules developed to find immediate
application in other projects as well.
The focus of activities in the first year has been in
capacity building. A team of seven persons of TIDE went through a 5-day
training programme in micro-enterprise development conducted by IDPMS,
Bangalore. The programme included methods to identify individuals and
groups with entrepreneurial competencies, marketing, accounting,
registrations etc. Three members of the project team also attended
training courses conducted by other organisations ( Train the Trainer
programme conducted by Oscar Murphy Life Strategists, Bangalore; training
on Gender and Energy conducted by Energia and Life Skills training in
Kannada conducted jointly by three NGOs specialising in training) to
understand how training can be made effective by developing appropriate
skills. A workshop was held in which SHG women, field staff of five
grassroots level NGOs, TIDE team and specialists in gender and
livelihoods participated. Informal discussions were held on the aspects
that have to be touched upon during interactions with the rural
population, to make any communication regarding women and
livelihoods effective.
Using the inputs gained during the training sessions,
a questionnaire was developed to help the team in identification of SHGs
as potential micro-entrepreneurs. The questionnaire guided the
discussions that the team had with SHGs. Discussions were conducted
with 24 SHGs. Four SHGs were identified based on the analysis of these
discussions.
Training materials are being developed, which will be
pilot tested during the training of he identified groups. The training
materials that will be produced include a Technical training manual on
using biomass dryers, hand outs on micro-enterprise development, posters
and slide shows.
Contents of training
programmes have also been developed. Two training modules have been
planned- one on technical training and the second on micro-enterprise
development. Both the modules have been planned to be participative.
Inputs gained in the training programmes attended by the TIDE team will be
used while preparing the training materials and while conducting the
training.
Capacity Building for existing networks of NGOs / CBOs and SHGs for
environment linked income generation activities
(Supported
by the India Canada Environment Facility)
This 3 year project
started in February 2004 and was completed in January 2007.
The goal of the project
was to contribute to the capacity building of NGOs,CBOs and SHGs to
improve the local environment. The project objectives included:
·
To improve environmental awareness among 150 SHGs/ CBOs.
·
Initiation of sustained income generation by 15 SHGs/CBOs
through environment friendly services
·
building the capacity of 30 SHGs to earn incomes through
environment friendly activities.
All
the objectives were achieved.
·
Improve
environmental awareness among SHGs: Awareness Campaigns on environment
friendly technologies were completed for 1622 people belonging to 201 SHGs
in Karnataka, Kerala and Madhya Pradesh on technologies relating to water,
energy and livelihoods. The impact of the awareness campaigns was
assessed. The campaigns helped to understand the attitudes of women in the
regions, which further helped to identify suitable technologies to train
them in.
·
Initiation
of sustained income generation by 15 SHGs: Twenty five SHGs were earning
sustained incomes from the activities that they were trained in. They
earned an income of more than Rs. 2 lakhs. Handholding for the groups was
done to develop markets for their products/ services.
·
Capacity
Building of SHGs/CBOs: 17 SHGs were trained by the first level SHGs in the
various technologies like household stove construction, household
processing of cashew, vermicomposting of coconut waste, etc.
Technology
Parks were set up in Bangalore and Kasargod. Working models and posters of
the environment friendly technologies disseminated by TIDE that are income
generating were demonstrated to SHG members when they visited the park.
As
a pat of dissemination efforts, a national level workshop to discuss
unsubsidised household stove dissemination was organised by ICEF and TIDE
in October 2006 in Bangalore. Experiences of other organisations from
other parts of India were shared. A detailed documentation of the workshop
was generated and circulated among the participants.
Extensive
documentation was generated under the project and included a film on
household processing of cashew, a process documentation on dissemination
of household stoves, process documentation on household processing of
cashew, a training hand out on greenhouse cultivation, brochures on six of
the technologies disseminated. A working model of rainwater harvesting was
made. Posters and pamphlets on all the technologies were also generated.
An end of project report was prepared and submitted to ICEF along with
other documentation.
The
project has led to the introduction and understanding of technologies that
TIDE had not tried before,eg polyhouse with rainwater harvesting,
cultivation within a polyhouse, two methods of charcoal production,
household processing of cashew. The benefits of these technologies to the
environment and their potential as income generating options, have been
understood. The project has led to more proposals and projects on
technologies and livelihoods.
The project was evaluated
by an external evaluator appointed by ICEF, who reported that the project
had been carried out well.
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