The Ginimao biogas project

Coffee Pulping effluents have been a major concern area for environmentalists all over the world. At Ginimao, we have gone a long way to treat organic wastes effectively. Eventually, what was for long an unfriendly effluent, is now a  useful by-product of coffee.

The first of its kind biogas and effluent treatment initiative in the world, the Ginimao plant was specially designed and executed under a special project by the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. The project was largely funded by the Indo-Norwegian Environment Program. 

Rich coffee pulp, discharged after the bean is extracted, is fed to the plant. The plant takes the role of  a huge digestor, bringing down the potency of the pulp to levels unseen in the plantation industry, while at the same time generating huge quantities of biogas. The biogas can fulfill the  cooking needs of at least 20 families on the estate, but, also importantly, it is a  substitute for  diesel for our machinery to a large extent.

In addition to the savings factor and enhancing self-reliance, this plant has clearly endorsed our commitment to ‘Thinking Green’. It reduces our dependence on fossil fuels, minimizes the lopping of trees as fuel, ensures clean drinking water, and encourages organically positive practices such as manual weeding, the weeds being used to fuel this bio-gas plant during the off-season. Finally, the digested biomass is also used as an organic manure!