Project Objectives:
To save the forest area in and around Nagwain from forest fire, provide clean fuel and generating employment opportunities for women through group enterprises.
1. Use of pine needles as biomass and reducing the possibilities of forest fires.
2. Reducing the use of firewood/oil as fuel by replacing this with briquettes.
3. Enhancing employment opportunities for women in the region.
4. Creating awareness regarding the biodiversity, climate change in the community.
5. Building capacities of the CBOs and women entrepreneurs.
Project Activities:
Phase 1: Collection of Pine Needles:
a) Selection of project team and technical agency and orientations of SHGs in the project area.
b) Guidance on technology to all 12 women SHGs in 30 villages and strengthening, linking to banks.
c) Develop agreements in the management and operations, land allotment for 3 women SHGs namely Laxmi SHG, Jwala SHG and Shiv Shakti & Parvati SHG for establishing the enterprise.
d) Collection on pine needles@ 10 MTs per SHG with 10 women per day collecting 50 kgs for 20 days. There after 12 women SHGs engaged means 360 MTs in 3 months per year.
Phase 2: Partial Combustion of pine needles into Char Powder:
a) Char making means reduction of 60% in weight and left with 144 MTs per annum for 3 SHGs Units.
b) Processing of 10 kgs/hr of pine needles capacity of the pine in each of the kilns, i.e. for each klin at 8 hrs is 80 kgs if the klin works for 20 days. This will be 1.6 Mts per day/ per klin/ per month.
c) 1.6 MTs per day/ per klin for 24 klins for 200 days means processing of 384 MTs against a collection of 360 Mts of pine needles.
Phase 3: Making of pallets from Char:
a) Installation of 02 pallet making machines at each centre and each machine has a capacity of 150 kgs per day, each machine 20 days means 3 MTs per month thus in 12 months each machine will do 36 Mts.
b) Add bentonite as binder and cow dung and coal churi to raise the calorific value and little mud. Cost of production of char is Rs 9.2 per kgs including labour, raw material etc.
c) Sales will take place at Rs. 11/12 per kgs and a profit of Rs. 2/3 per kgs will be distributed i.e. Rs. 400000 profit for 3 units.
d) Hand holding support to producer groups for production, marketing and management.
Project Outputs:
1. Establishing 3 new sustainable enterprises with involvement of 50 women entrepreneurs generating alternative source of income.
2. 12 women groups involved in processing 360 Mts pine needles into briquettes lead to reduced pressure on forest for fuel wood and resulting in forest conservation in an area of 1549 hectares.
3. Availability of clean fuel 144 MTs (40% of 360 MTs collected) to 3000 families in 30 villages in 10 Panchayats.
4. Awareness generation in rural upland community of 60 villages (10,000 households) regarding environment conservation and protection.