Zambian Village Turns Cow Dung Into Clean Energy for 100 Homes

Finess Phiri used to spend hours walking through the bush searching for firewood, breathing smoke in her kitchen every time she cooked a meal. Today, she turns a valve and cooks with clean biogas made from cow dung collected right in her village.

In Nkhundye, a farming community in eastern Zambia, 300 cattle are doing more than providing milk and meat. Their manure feeds a biodigester that produces methane gas for cooking, powers water pumps for irrigation, and generates electricity for homes.

The system works remarkably simply. Villagers mix cow dung with water and feed it into a sealed tank where bacteria break down the waste and create methane. Homes within 330 feet get gas through underground pipes, while families farther away receive portable storage bags that last three to five days.

As of March 2025, the project serves 100 households in the Nkhundye Community Cooperative. All 600 cooperative members will eventually connect to the system, receiving free stoves, pipes, and installation.

The benefits reach beyond cleaner cooking. A portion of the methane powers a small generator that lights homes, charges phones, and runs water pumps for vegetable gardens. Year-round irrigation means families can grow and sell produce even in dry seasons, creating new income streams.

The leftover slurry becomes organic fertilizer. The plant produces 2.5 metric tons every week, enriching soil without chemical inputs.

Religious charity NACRO led the $482,000 initiative from May 2023 to April 2025, funded by Germany's development ministry and a German nonprofit. Now the cooperative maintains the system with technical support from the International Labour Organization and UN agencies.

The Ripple Effect

Zambia faces a serious energy challenge. Only 54% of the country's 22 million people have electricity, and just 18% in rural areas can turn on a light switch. The national grid depends heavily on hydropower, which failed during recent droughts when the Kariba Dam and other reservoirs ran dangerously low.

Energy Minister Makozo Chikote told Mongabay the government now recognizes biogas as crucial for bringing power to remote areas where extending the national grid costs too much. The Rural Electrification Authority is rolling out similar biodigesters in boarding schools, prisons, and health centers across the country.

What started as one village's waste problem is becoming a national energy solution, proving that sometimes the best innovations come from the most unexpected places.