In Guizhou and Hainan Provinces, many households still use open pit latrines outside their homes and store animal manure in open pits, where it slowly breaks down. These pits not only generate methane emissions, a potent greenhouse gas, but also present health risks for both livestock and humans, and are a potential source of disease and parasitical infection. In parallel to this, cooking and heating in the home normally uses bought coal. This costs families time and money whilst exposing them to harmful indoor air pollution and emits significant amounts of CO2.

This project supports farmers to build and maintain a household biogas digester. Families reduce expenditure on fuel by 40%, whilst improving sanitation for them and their livestock. It also enables long-term access to a source of renewable, clean fuel for cooking and heating. Additionally, the project uses the income from carbon finance to support a network of service stations that provide technical support to households, creating sustainable, long-term jobs.