Residents of Kadavu Island will be the first to start generating cooking gas made from food waste to help reduce the reliance on open fires for cooking

Residents on Kadavu Island in Fiji will be among the first in the Pacific to start generating cooking gas made from food waste.

Purchased on grant funds, the biogas units can be set up on properties to help reduce the reliance on open fires for cooking.

“We have become dependent on firewood, and when there is none on the island, we travel to the mainland to get it, especially when there is a function,” said one Kadavu resident.

Grants were provided by Global Environment Facility, and the residents are keen to start living a more sustainable lifestyle.

“We are grateful to the donors for actually seeing the need to bring this kind of project and buying these systems,” said another island resident.

This resident also said the system will reduce the amount of time to prepare meals, cutting out the need to source firewood.

The aim is to install a total of 22 systems, ultimately creating a more sustainable environment for Kadavu Islanders.

This story was originally published at ABC on 20 May 2022, reposted via PACNEWS.