77-YO Granny Inspires Pune Family to Cook With Biogas, Saving 50% on LPG Cost

In 2005, 77-year-old Vimal Dighe, a resident of Karve Nagar in Pune, came across a show on television about how waste from the kitchen can be converted into cooking gas. Being an environmentally-conscious person, she was intrigued.

“I have always tried to generate as little waste as possible. I usually use food waste and the water used to wash vegetables or fruits for the plants in our garden. When I buy groceries, I ensure I carry a cloth bag so I don’t need to buy one-time-use plastic bags. So when I came across the idea of generating cooking gas from wet waste in the kitchen, I discussed it with my son, who reached out to an organisation named ARTI — Appropriate Rural Technology Institute — in Pune to install a biogas unit on our terrace,” Dighe tells The Better India.

Even today, the family continues to use biogas for cooking, and has reduced their LPG expenses.