Project proposal forBiomass briquetting for Lantana de-weeding aroundParasmaniya Pathaar in Uccherra Block

JUNE 2015Submitted for financial support toMadhya Pradesh State Biodiversity Board (MPSBB), Bhopalfor the period July 15 - March 2016.

By

The Covenant Centre for Development (CCD)

Durg, (CG) & Jabalpur, (M. P.)DURG- Bajpayi Bhavan, Deepak Nagar, Opp. Railway Station, Durg city,Chhattisgarh, PIN 491001, Ph. +91-788-2210162, Mob. 91-9424102440&JABALPUR- 211/B, Ravindra Nager, Adhartal, PIN- 482004, Mob. 09926004517Email Address - ccdnorth@gmail.com, Web: www.ccdgroup.org

EXECUTIVE SUMMARYThis is a small project proposal for bio-fuel briquetting from the Lantana weed around Parasmaniya Pathaar in Uccherra Block to improve the habitat quality for the wildlife. Sustainable livelihoods will also be promoted in the effort for the tribal community, especially the women to empower them through regular income generation. Regular marketing channel with the nearby industries will be established & capacity of thecommunity based organization Sarjana Samajik Sanskritik avm Sahaitik Manch (CBO) will be built in business management, bank linkage & exposure.

We will work with the village Biodiversity Management Committee (BMC) at Gadoth G.P. in Uccherra block, our regular partners. The project budget is Rs. 3.68 lakh & period is 9 months. It would generate income for 10-15 women regularly in the briquetting unit & marketing, while 100 forest produce gatherers in Latana collection occasionally.

IntroductionLantana weed infestation in & around protected areas is a national problem, rampant in Madhya Pradeshstate too. It reduces the habitat value for the wildlife. It is proposed to reduce it by using Lantana bushesas biofuel briquetting raw material, which would lead to regular harvest & removal of Lantana from theforest area. An initiative is taken in this direction by a Bangalore based NGO named Ashoka Trust forResearch in Environment & Ecology (ATREE, www.atree.org) who started promoting Lantana basedfurniture production through tribal community at Biligiri Rangan Hills (BRH) wildlife sanctuary in Karnataka& its sales in Bangalore. This was supported by the local forest department, amongst others.The agri-residue or weedy biomass is useful as a fuel substitute for petrol, diesel, gas and electricity, inrural, backward, forested tracks & a low cost, promising renewable energy technology. Biomass briquettecan replace the traditional biomass based fuels, notably wood (see Annexe 1 for more details). HarvestEnergy Pvt. Ltd., (HEPL), Bhopal has promoted such technology in the state to run mobile phone towersof various companies. The technology is initially developed by the College of Agriculture Engineering,Indore of the Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR). We have leant this technology &successfully demonstrated at Rewa forest division at the call of the local forest department in 2012 & isrunning successfully even today. Its recent newspaper coverage is attached as an example of lasting &sustainable endeavor (Annex 2).

We propose to replicate it around the Parasmaniya Pathaar where Sarjana Samajik Sanskritik avm Sahaitik Manch have been working since last 10 yrs with the BMC at G.P.Gadoth in Uccherra block.Thepurpose of the project is to pilot this approach for wildlife habitat management & promote it elsewherewhen successful.

GoalThe project goal is to reduce the exotic weed pressure viz. Lantana on wildlife habitat near Parasmaniya Pathaar & also build sustainable livelihoods for the tribal in promoting cleaner, renewable, low costbio-fuel technology.

Project ObjectivesTo improve the wildlife habitat quality by continuous removal of the exotic weed Lantana.To provide economic incentives to the local tribal community to do so by adding value to theweed biomass as bio-fuel briquettesTo build the local community capacity to run the bio-briquette unit sustainably & market thebriquettes to industry in the cities/ towns nearby profitably.To generate rural income, empower the womenTo explore the use of the bio-briquettes for smokeless stove to reduce the fuel wood harvestpressure on the forest & drudgery reduction of the women

3Project Methodology:The project will adopt the following components while implementing the methodology to achieve theexpected results:

(1) Baseline study- Study of wildlife damage caused by the Lantana invasion in the forest & the resourcemapping. We will find & map Lantana infested area, productivity per acre/ year, contrast this with theforest map to depict correlation between forest degradation, Lanatna infestation & its completion for theforest tree saplings, besides if any reduction in wildlife density.We will select 3-5 villages along the high way and 2-3 villages each along the trekking routes for pilotproject implementation.

(2) Market survey- study markets in cities/ towns nearby to find buyers for the briquettes & also explorescope for smokeless stoves in the villages nearby.The later will be studied by finding the family budget, hazards of fuel wood based cooking for the women& their willingness to pay (WTP) for clean fuel options like smokeless stoves & bio-briquettes. Scope ofdonor driven projects for clean kitchens/ fuels will be explored & tapped also e.g. www.clean

(3) Capacity building- Training the village community in Biomass briquetting & selection of group to run itviably, set up the briquetting unit & handholding for a few months as done in Rewa forest division earlier.Three entrepreneurs, especially women, from each village (10-15 in total) will be trained andequipped with suitable technology, kiln or charring drums, crushing manually or with machine,moulds and manual or machine compressing, etc. for briquette production.At least 1 set of charring drum and accessories will be distributed on cost sharing basis to theinterested entrepreneurs. In case of villages, technique of constructing kiln and using it forproduction of charcoal will be taught and necessary accessories will be provided on cost sharingbasis.About 100 tribal families who are poor will get regular Lantana collection work & 10-15 women inthe briquette making and marketing, where some men can also assist them. They will beregistered as enterprise/ small scale industry when appropriate, in the district industries centre.Various Govt. schemes of the ministry of new & renewable department will be linked to them &bank linkage will be provided for financial stability to make it a role model.Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) such as primary cooperative will be strengthened herefor long-term sustainability of the intervention. Concepts of self-reliance and good environmentalgovernance will be promoted. The project will promote community-based cooperatives toundertake forestry & bio diversity management, faire trade & disaster resilience by improving theincome, savings, bank/ loan linkage as well as reducing fire risk to the forest/ villages. Otherdonor links will be tapped e.g. Partnership for Clean Indoor Air (PCIA, http://www.pciaonline.org).

(4) Evaluation & exit plan- impact assessment of the initiative will be done by asking the villagers, forestguards & experts if any changes noticed in-(a) wildlife occurrence/ sighting in the Lantana harvested area than earlier(b) continued resource availability for the bio-briquetting unit(c) economic benefit to the tribal community who collect Lantana & the women who run the unit(d) any economic or logistic (convenience, no smoke etc.) benefit to the industries who use thebio-briquettes than fuel wood/ cattle dung/ agri-residue etc.

4A 2-3 years business plan will be prepared by consulting various stakeholders for the long termsustainability of the proposed unit at Gadoth. Plan will also be made, if found feasible, to expand it orreplication elsewhere for greater & continuing impact on the wildlife habitat & the tribal community.

Project activity monitoring will be done CCD, every quarter & reports will be submitted to the donor & experts will be also consulted on the project progress & any improvements needed.

Outcomes expectedHabitat quality improvement & better wildlife quality around Parasmaniya Pathaar.Increased awareness and skills among the tribal community to produce & use improved bioenergyfor economic sustainability & decent livelihoodsIncome generating opportunity for 20-50 or even 100 tribal familiesIncreased capacity of the community for profitable marketing of bio-resource than selling herbs/other NTFP.

TIME SCHEUDLE

S.NoACTIVIESMONTHS

123456789

01Baseline Survey of potential sites

02Market survey

03Identification of BMCs/Entrepreneurs

04Training to target groups

05Practical demo

06Delivery of equipments

07Production of Char Briquettes

08Marketing of Briquettes

PRODUCTIVITY & INCOME/ KILN WORKER:

Char Production in 1batch=1kiln40 kg

1kiln X 3batch/day Char production120 kg

Production in 5 kilns600 kg

Monthly Char production in 5 kilns1500 kg

Total usable quantity of Binder in a Month (12 to 15%)2000 kg

Total production of Charcoal in a month (Char+Binder)17000 kg

Weight loss during dry(12 to 15%)2000 kg

Good quality Dry Charcoal receivable15000 kg

Group Home consumable qty.of charcoal(10% of prod.)1500 kg

Charcoal for Sale13500 kg

Total payment received by Charcoal sale @8.00/kg1,08,000.00

Per month expense(installment, Electricity& other exp)12,500.00

Total Income to Group (15 members)95,500.00

Per Member Earning per month6,366.66 say 6,400.00

5 BUDGETA) PLANT & MACHINERYS.NoParticularsUnitCost/UnitAmount

1 Char Klin510,500.0052,500.00

2Solder Mounted Cutter132,000.0032,000.00

3Briquetting Machine(with motor)185,000.0085,000.00

4Bag Stitching Mch25,500.0011,000.00

5Weighing Mch112,000.0012,000.00

6Operating tools 1set15,000.005,000.00

7Tarpulins25,000.0010,000.00

Sub Total 2,07,500.00

8Tax(14.5)30,087.5

9Transportation Cost25,000.00

Total Plant & Machinery Cost2,62.587.00

B) WORKING CAPITAL

S.No.PARTCULARSMonthly Rs.

1Cost of Bags for packing(16 bags/day4,800.00

2 Raw Material arrangements & Marketing15,000.00

3Storage (rent)4,500.00

4Electricity & Utilities3,500.00

Total27,800.00

TOTAL Working Capital Expenses:- 3 months cycle:-83,400.00

Total Budget:S.No.PARTCULARSAmt.in Rs.

Plant & Machinery2,62.587.00

Working Capital83,400.00

Training(Rs. 750 X1 X100 members)75,000.00

4,20,987.00

Admin & Monitoring cost( 15% of total cost)63,148.05

Total Budget4,84,135.00

(Rs.Four lakh eighty four thousand one hundred thirty five only)

6. Annex 1-BRIQUETTING UNITBriquetting works on the basic concept of Wealth from Waste. It converts all types of agriculture, forestryand industrial waste into solid fuel. Briquette replaces conventional fossil fuels and can be used acrossvarious manufacturing facilities such as boilers, furnaces and kilns. Bio-Briquette is eco-friendly whichhelps to reduces pollution, contributing to greener environment and save worthy foreign exchange.Agricultural & Forest waste is converted to solid biofuel by farmers by installing of the Briquetting plant.The briquettes are used for energy generation helping farmers to earn money from the waste.

Economic Feasibility & ProfitabilityThis project of briquetting plant have major advantages as follow:a. Landless/ farmers earn by selling agro waste of every crop & are thus renewable.b. High profitability & Employment potential.c. Excellent market & growth potentiald. Wide variety, easy availability, supply of agro waste of every crop & are thus renewable.e. Early Pay Back Period.f. Maintenance of ecological balance & conservation of the natural resources.g. Saving of foreign currency in importing fossil fuels.

Incentives / Promotional Steps By GovernmentTo promote this project govt. of India has announced series of incentives for putting up such plants of theentrepreneurs engaged in developing alternative energy source.The Major Incentives Are:

1. 100% Depreciation:Total value of plant and Machinery is allowed to be depreciated in the first year. Under Section : Solidagro waste

2. Excise Exemption:Solid fuel briquettes are completely exempted from excise duty.

3. Sales Tax : Exemption:Several States have exempted solid fuels briquette from sales Tax.

4. Benefits of Priority Sector:Energy being priority sector & considering the cost of project benefits of SSI & Priority Sector areavailable.(-2-) In addition to above incentives being offered by Govt. It is seen that Govt. has taker this projecton their top most priority and considering of more incentives to the enterpreneurs

5. Benefits of Income Tax100% INCOME TAX exemption for first five years under section 50 JJA clause 51

Potential Buyers:

Industrial Use of Briquettes Commonly known as white Coal is in many industrial like.1. Brick Kilns2. Ceramic Units3. Paper Mills4. Spinning Mills5. Solvent Extraction Plants6. Chemical Plants Food Processing Units7. Dryer and Ovens to Generate Hot Air.8. Hotels 10. Milk Plant & Dairy9. Bakery Industry10. Leather Industry11. Distillaries12. Dyeing House13. Vegetables Unit

7,SPECIFICATION OF BIOMASS FOR BRIQUETTING:More than 20 types of biomass have been utilized in India to densify into biomass briquette. Theseare as given below:

RESIDUE FROM AGROPROCESSING INDUSTRYAGRICULTURAL RESIDUES HORTICULTURE/ FOREST RESIDUESSugarcane Bagasse Mustard Husk Wood WasteRice Husk Soya Bean Husk Twigs, leaves, etcGroundnut Shell Cane Trash LantanaPress Mud Cotton Stalk Wild GrassesDe oiled Cake Wheat Straw Market Yard Waste

Briquette Making ProcessBiomass is shredded & mixed with the sticky clay soil as binder. When briquettes are produced using charring drum, funnel is inverted first inside the drum; dried materials are then spread over funnel and burnt. As the dried biomass materials start burning a little, dried materials are continued to add and burn. Raw materials should not be burnt completely. Chimney is attached to the top of the inverted funnel through which white smoke is ejected. The process of semi burning of biomass is done layer by layer until the drum is filled 2/3rd. Then the chimney is taken out and drum is covered and water-sealedto completely extinguish the fire. Once the fire is extinguished and cooled down then the coal is taken out, pounded into powder, mixed with the binding sticky clay soil with water all in appropriate ratio (3 parts of coal: 1 part of binding clay soil). Then the well-mixed coal is put in the briquette mould and compressed well with hand or machine. The briquette is then taken out and dried for 2-3 days under the sun. While drying, briquettes should be kept on a plane and hard surface and should be covered with plastic during the night to protect from rain and wind. Once the briquette is dried and hard, its ready to burn a stove/ boiler/ furnace. When produced manually, 1 person can make about 30 round beehive briquettes with 19 holes through which blue fire-flame comes out when burnt. Depending on the quality of briquettes, 1 beehive briquette burns for an 1-2.5 hours. If the semi-burnt charcoal is machine pressed, it improves efficiency. The cost of the briquette ranges from Rs. 7-10/ kg. A normal meal for a nucleus family of 4-5 members can be cooked with 0.5 kg biomass briquette.