At Sistema.bio, we believe and know that biogas has the potential to improve lives and communities on several levels -better health, sustainable production, waste management, economic reactivation, healthier farms. We continually look for new partnerships, new territories, new families and new projects. We want sustainable solutions and clean technologies to be the norm, not the exception. We believe children are key to building the world we want.
The Sotik Green Academy in Sotik, Kenya, shares our perspective: educating children on sustainable practices is the best way to ensure long-term changes. We spoke to Edna, a teacher in Sotik, about the important role of agriculture and biogas in her school, and about how she and her community are dealing with the COVID-19 reality.
Edna is an educator who loves to share knowledge. For her and the rest of the team at the Sotik Green Academy, it is important to go beyond traditional education and focus on building character from an early age. With this intention in mind, they have included agriculture in their curriculum, a subject that is taught through a small organic farm. The farm has lemongrass, mint tea, rosemary, avocado trees and pineapples, among many more plants. The school wants to teach the kids to be environmental activists, so they put a lot of thought into making their school and their farm as sustainable as possible. That’s how they found the biogas solution.
They installed a biodigester at the end of last year, after finding out about it from one of our sales agents. Before their biodigester, they used firewood to run the school’s fuel needs, which was very expensive. They found the biodigester to be a healthier and more cost-effective option, not to mention the added value of an early education in green technology and clean energy! The kids had just started learning about the system before the pandemic hit, but Edna tells us they were very excited.
Like all schools, Sotik Green Academy has been closed for a couple of weeks. Not only have the educational projects been brought to a halt -the biogas is not being used at the moment. But Edna is not worried: she is taking this time to think, to reflect.
As a farmer, she tells us her main concerns are the heavy rains and how they will affect her crops. The same goes for neighboring farmers: their farms (or shambas) are flooding, and workers are unable to come and aid in farming activities. Community gatherings are canceled, and most businesses have cut down on operations. But Edna is planning ahead: she wants to find a way to share the valuable biogas and biofertilizer with her neighbors.
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As for what this new, conscious world can do for farmers, she suggests we go back to basics, to one of the most precious elements this world gives us: water. Water is pouring down on Kenya, and farmers could really use a water harvesting solution so they can preserve water for the dryer seasons.
Our presence in the Sotik Green Academy is extremely valuable for us. Sistema.bio is made up of a team of environmental activists, and learning about sustainability has been key for each and every one of us. Taking part in children’s education on agriculture and sustainable practices is always a precious opportunity for us because we want new generations to have all the knowledge and all the tools right from the start. In time, they will become the guardians of our lands and resources, just like their ancestors once were. We want them to know exactly how precious those resources are, as well as how to take proper care of them.
That is really what Sistema.bio, along with so many more green businesses, is all about: making the most of what we already have. We invite you to think, what more can we do? How can we find new solutions, new ways to utilize what we already have? After all, there is no such thing as waste, there’s only resources.
