From Poop to Fuel

Exciting Developments in TRL’s Biogas Project

In April 2024, I received an intern application from a French Environmental Engineering student, Estelle Olivier, asking to come to Guatemala to work on developing Tu’ik Ruch’Lew’s (TRL) biogas digester program. Very quickly, we decided that the most beneficial action we could take was to install a small, home biogas digester on my property (at my expense) to test out design ideas, gain hands-on experience in operation and maintenance, all in an effort to strengthen TRL’s ability to build biogas digesters on different scales.

Estelle arrived in June and in the days that followed, we determined which design would best suit my family’s needs, ensuring a continuous supply of methane gas for cooking, plus liquid and solid fertilizers for our newly planted coffee grove. In spite of delays caused by national and local holidays and unusually heavy rains in June, Estelle rolled up her sleeves and worked with our builder, Lucas Cristal Ajuchan (who is to lead the construction at David LaMotte School). Working in remote consultation with our other team members in Cuba and Honduras, the construction was completed July 31^st.

We primed the digestor with 30 gallons of fresh cow manure (which is the source of the anerobic bacteria that run the system) and began adding only humanure on a daily basis -- since these are the conditions we will encounter at the school digester connected with toilets. Observations tell us that gas is gathering in the cupula! In a few more days we anticipate our first ignition of cooking gas from the biogas digester!

All of this happened with the invaluable support from Estelle Olivier, TRL’s brilliant Environmental Engineering intern, without touching a cent of the funds donated by all of you on GlobalGiving. We have tested the theory. Now we are totally prepared to tackle the construction, the education of the community and those responsible for the digester at the school and proceed with first-hand experience to make the David La Motte School biogas digester installation better than ever!

Thank you for your continuing support for this project to eliminate fecal matter from entering Lake Atitlan, further reduce deforestation caused by consumption of trees for firewood and connect humans into a circular cycle of life -- where there is no waste and simply the beneficial production of free cooking gas and organic fertilizers.

We'll be reporting again soon,

Candis