Hi, everyone!
It's already August! Time flies!
I hope you and your family are doing well :)
Indri here from the THINK-Research team. Well, I can be DO-Engineering team as well :D
Now, I want to write about our biogas. If you have followed su-re.co for a long time, you might know our story well.
I will start from a think-do-be tank company. When we need to explain su-re.co activities, we will start with this sentence. su-re.co is not only doing research but also implement research in various activities, such as installing biogas, producing climate-smart products, educate youth, farmers, and communities, and other activities. If you follow some of our activities, you will find that all activities are connected and overlapping. So, what I want to say is, installing biogas will contribute to our clean energy, climate change, decarbonisation, and blockchain research, provide clean energy and organic fertiliser for rural farmers and communities, and become training materials for sustainability education.
su-re.co's biogas story begins with a goal to make affordable, clean, and green energy available to everyone. su-re.co spent countless hours of testing and developing efficient, low-cost, portable, and durable biodigesters. You can find our publication of biogas as a frugal innovation in this blog: https://www.su-re.co/post/portable-biogas-as-frugal-eco-innovation-to-address-climate-change
If you want to read the full publication, you can check this link: https://www.su-re.co/product-page/frugal-eco-innovation-for-addressing-climate-change-in-emerging-countries
The main idea of su-re.co biogas is in its simplicity and affordability (https://www.su-re.co/post/su-re-co-venture-back-to-the-basic-benefit-of-biogas). su-re.co wants to make energy accessible for all, especially those who still rely on traditional energy sources (traditional wood) for cooking. Biogas promotes firewood reduction, organic waste management (from livestock and food waste), and producing biogas slurry (bio-slurry) to be used as organic fertiliser. These benefits are suitable for smallholder farmers in the rural areas to save more money from reducing reliance on fossil fuel and chemical fertiliser, as well as adding more value to their agroforestry and agriculture products in which su-re.co eagerly promote.
su-re.co has installed around 29 biogas in Bali and Bajawa (Flores Island). One of our reliable partners is LAPMAS Bajawa. You can find the description of this organisation in this link: https://www.su-re.co/do
LAPMAS is focusing on developing farmer production chains through field schools and improving post-harvest quality in Ngada district, East Nusa Tenggara. In 2019, su-re.co giftmakers installed one biogas as a part of the Climate Field School Event in Flores Island. Local farmers learned how to install and maintain biogas. After the event finished, su-re.co giftmakers came back to Bali and local farmers installed the rest of the biogas (5 digesters) by themselves. A few months later, there were some restrictions in travelling due to the pandemic situation, then 5 biodigesters were shipped from Bali to Bajawa. A few months later, we got an update that all biodigester had been installed!
I can say that these farmers are highly motivated! They know not only how to install and use, but also how to maintain and repair the biogas. These farmers are who is su-re.co looking for. We call them champion farmers. If we install biogas for these farmers, the biogas will be used for a long time. Can you see how much bioslurry is produced? They said they can share with their neighbours as well since the Bajawa government forces farmers to apply organic fertiliser for their organic farms. Such a beautiful story!
However, a few months ago as you know there was a rain storm in Bajawa. One of the farmers' biodigesters was broken because a tree fell down. There was an issue with the bag clip as well, but the farmer could repair and solve the issue.
Broken biogas due to natural disaster
Farmer's innovation to solve biogas issue
If you ask how to monitor all biogas, I can say that we do it remotely. I keep in touch with Mr Rikardus, one of the LAPMAS coordinators. I ask him regularly and I really appreciate how Mr Rikardus is willing to go around and check and monitor all biogas. Not only monitoring biogas, but he also helps us to do data collection for our research project.
Pandemic changes everything. We need to adapt well. We need to change our activities, habit, and works. This remote installation, monitoring, and maintenance help su-re.co a lot to adapt and keep working on clean energy and sustainable farming research and implementation. So, if you have not read this blog, I do suggest you to read this: https://www.su-re.co/post/su-re-co-venture-corona-pandemic-the-second-oxygen-tank-blew-up-luck-is-not-an-accident
We will not stop doing anything if we know the best way to do it.
If I can ask a question, do you have a suggestion on how to do project implementation remotely?
Thank you for reading ^^
I agree with All! Having a team based approach and regular CRM would work, with an additional IoT tool on the tool itself would also save more time so it can automatically transfer data :)
Yes, this can be an opportunity to try new remote technologies. More than 55% of Indonesian already have smart phone in rural areas!
I think maybe in the future we can use more internet of things (IoT) system. But again it will still require human control. :)
I agree with Okta, the idea of remote working is autonomous working. So I think we have to shift the idea of remote work not as "control from far away" but as "expanding a team to other places"
I still like going to the field so I hope doing project remotely will not be forever. :(