By Therese Johnson
For dinner tonight in Funafuti, the main coral atoll of Tuvalu, a typical family meal might involve boiling some rice, preparing some breadfruit and frying a locally caught fish. Generally, it’s the task of women and girls in the family to cook the meal.
Most households in Funafuti rely on LPG gas to fire their cookstoves, which is an expensive source of energy. In Tuvalu’s outer islands, low-income and remote households rely on traditional fuel sources such as firewood.
As the primary users of cooking energy, women and girls’ use of firewood increases their exposure to harmful indoor smoke and burns, which negatively impacts their health. Time spent collecting firewood is also less time for them to pursue economic and educational activities.
The adoption of clean and sustainable energy is critical to mitigate the impacts of climate change. The introduction of new technologies can help address energy and climate challenges, while also empowering women along the way. Biogas is one such technology that provides a clean, reliable and affordable alternative to traditional fuels.
How does biogas work?
Biogas technology works by converting organic waste and/or animal manure into biogas, which provides an energy source that fuels two hours of cooking per day, while also reducing indoor air pollution.
In Tuvalu, where many households rear a small number of pigs, this means that feeding pig manure and other household organic waste into a biogas digester can have a positive impact on family health and wellbeing.
The Tuvalu Government has committed to installing home biogas systems in communities to increase access to clean cooking technologies and transition to a clean and sustainable energy future.
However, to date, in Tuvalu and across the Pacific, there has been limited evidence and understanding of how effective home biogas systems are at replacing traditional fuel sources, and the socio-economic impacts, especially for women and girls.
Building evidence for a gender-inclusive, sustainable energy future
To understand this, the Pacific Community (SPC) partnered with Fiji National University (FNU) and the Department of Energy, Tuvalu, to conduct a gender analysis of 20 home biogas systems in Funafuti atoll. The research was conducted with funding and technical support from the Pacific Women Lead at SPC programme, supported by the Australian Government, and the New Zealand Government.
The research found that:
- Biogas adoption leads to reduced fuel expenditure: Households with biogas reported significant reductions in fuel costs, with some eliminating LPG expenses.
- Biogas stoves offer comparable cooking times and fuel efficiency: Biogas stoves perform similarly to LPG stoves.
- Biogas supports income generation, especially for women: Households with cooking-related businesses increased earnings due to reduced fuel costs and improved cooking efficiency.
- Improved health and wellbeing for women and children: Biogas systems offer a healthier cooking environment, which reduces harmful indoor smoke from firewood cookstoves.
- Time savings and women’s empowerment: Biogas systems reduce the time women and girls spend on cooking tasks, allowing more time for economic and educational activities.
- Biogas use influences household time management: While biogas can free up time for other activities, the system also requires dedicated labour for operation and maintenance.
- Training opportunities for women: Women reported limited practical knowledge of how to repair home biogas systems, compared to men. Women’s increased participation in biogas training will enhance their skills and employability.
- Biogas by-products enhance home gardens: The liquid slurry by-product of biogas systems is used as fertiliser to improve soil quality and crop yields, enhancing food security and sustainable agriculture.
- Biogas promotes positive socio-cultural changes: Gender relations may gradually improve as more men participate in cooking.
- Challenges to biogas adoption remain, including space constraints; labour-intensive operation and maintenance; limited local expertise; insufficient biogas production for some households; and high initial costs.
Key recommendations for Tuvalu and beyond
The research provided key recommendations that will support the expansion of biogas technology in Tuvalu, assisting Tuvaluan households to transition to sustainable energy sources and promoting women’s empowerment. It will also help to better understand how biogas technologies might be applied in other Pacific Island countries, contributing to the Pacific Energy and Gender Strategic Action Plan (PEGSAP), the regional framework guiding gender mainstreaming in the Pacific clean energy sector.
Two policy briefs detail the research’s key findings and recommendations, with a summary of the 17 recommendations outlined below.
Policy Brief #1: Biogas systems in Tuvalu: Achieving a just energy transition through clean cooking
Policy Brief #2: Biogas systems in Tuvalu: Gender impact assessment
17 Recommendations
National policy level:
1. Prioritise biogas in national energy policies
- Biogas is a key strategy for Tuvalu to transition to clean, affordable, sustainable energy.
2. Policy coordination and gender integration
- Integrate gender considerations into national energy and biogas policies and strategies.
- Increase collaboration between the Department of Energy, Gender Affairs Department and other departments.
- Address inequalities in project design, implementation and evaluation.
3. Gender-responsive policymaking
- Gender mainstreaming training and initiatives for the energy sector.
- Conduct regular gender audits to identify and address women’s and men’s needs.
- Integrate biogas into national gender strategies.
Community engagement and awareness:
4. Community engagement and women’s empowerment
- Involve women in the planning, implementation and evaluation of biogas projects.
- Ensure active participation of women and marginalised groups in consultations.
5. Public awareness campaigns to promote biogas use
- Department of Energy and community leaders promote biogas benefits and address challenges and misconceptions.
- Biogas users are aware of the work required to operate the system, and the minimum number of pigs.
6. Public awareness and advocacy for women
- Promote the economic, health and time-saving benefits of biogas for women.
- Promote the importance of women’s participation in biogas programs.
- Showcase women leaders and role models in the energy sector.
Community capacity and maintenance:
7. Develop strategies for effective operation and maintenance (O&M)
- Establish communication channels for reporting issues.
- Train local biogas users (men and women).
- Ensure availability of tools and spare parts.
- Allocate program funds for monitoring and for the provision of water tanks at pig pen sites.
8. Provide training and education for women
- Ensure biogas O&M training programs include and empower women.
- Provide technical training for women in the energy sector more broadly.
- Provide scholarships and grants for women in STEM education.
- Partner with local CSOs and women’s groups to enhance outreach.
9. Build capacity and women’s networks
- Establish and support women’s networks in the energy sector.
- Build women’s leadership skills in biogas technology.
Economic empowerment:
10. Promote home gardens and small-scale farming
- Use biogas liquid slurry to enhance food security and sustainable agriculture.
11. Support biogas for small businesses
- Provide government incentives for businesses using cookstoves to adopt biogas technology.
12. Provide financial support and incentives for women
- Microfinance and small business training for women entrepreneurs using biogas technology.
- Subsidies and grants for women-led biogas projects.
Piggery challenges:
13. Address infrastructure and logistical challenges
- Review piggery designs for efficient manure and rainwater collection.
- Incentivise manure collection.
Energy workplaces:
14. Inclusive workplace policies in the energy sector
- Implement gender quotas and promote mentorship programs for women.
- Support flexible working hours, remote working, onsite childcare facilities, and parental leave policies across all sectors to support women’s and men’s diverse needs.
Sustainability and monitoring, evaluation and learning:
15. Maintain sustained use of biogas systems
- Department of Energy conduct quarterly household assessments.
- Train biogas users in livestock (pig) and gardening production.
16. Strengthen monitoring and evaluation
- Gender-disaggregated data collection and regular evaluations to monitor women’s participation and progress in biogas and energy programs.
17. Government and partners fund further research and development in:
- Biogas systems’ tolerance to saltwater;
- Alternative feedstock (e.g. seaweed) inputs for biogas systems;
- Biogas effectiveness and gendered impacts in outer islands contexts;
- Feasibility of centralised biogas systems on smaller islets;
- Environmental impacts of biogas systems and slurry.