Katrin Pütz uses low-tech innovation to help rural communities establish village-level biogas systems It’s about time we give people on the margin dignity and responsibility, demands Katrin Pütz of Hohenheim University. And she has a solution: Enter the Biobag. A four layered, gas tight, one cubic meter bag that can be worn as a backpack. The Biobag is part of a greater village level biogas system value chain. The envisioned system allows for capital investment, usually from commercial farmers or other investors, to finance the construction of a biogas plant. From here small-scale farmers can sell their animal’s dung to the biogas plant owner. Village residents can then bring their reusable Biobag to the plant to fill it up with fuel. Solving rural poverty can be just this simple, anticipates Pütz.

Behind the idea

After working in Rwanda on an agricultural project with farmers Pütz saw how development aid was working. She also saw how it created dependencies. “I became angry about how people were being treated,” reflects Pütz. She started to study again, but this time doing her master’s in agricultural engineering. It was during this time she learned about biogas and knew: “This is it!”