Discuss the traditional uses of cow manure and how it would generate a big gap between the rich and poor.
Livestock production is common among individuals of low socio-economic backgrounds who are below the poverty line in developing countries such as India. These small and marginalized farmers use production systems based on traditional methods of on small scale production such as cow dung, which is used as manure (agricultural fertilizer). Most of the rich people live in the cities, but a few who are in rural areas use cow manure from livestock on agricultural use on a large scale. The affluent people use modern methods and also large scale farming while some apply mechanized farming where they are able to collect more manure from their livestock.
Furthermore, dung was used to produce biogas that is useful in the generation of electricity. This gas rich in methane is recycled in rural parts of India and in other places to make available a renewable and constant source of power. Production of biogas requires expensive equipment that can only be afforded by the rich in India, unlike the underprivileged who use it for firewood in the form of cow patties. Rich people use manure as a source of energy in the form of biogas. In the same way, the poor, in the past years, dried the cow dung was for fuel where it was drained into straight outlines and used instead of biogas.
In cases where the people could not afford convectional constructing blocks, they used cow dung while the rich use expensive building materials. Most of the people usually burned the cow dung then used it to line the walls of rural houses as an inexpensive heat-proofing technique. As opposed to the rich who use other methods of controlling mosquitos such as insecticides and fumigation, poor people in Indian communities often burnt cow dung in their homes to prevent mosquitos. In conclusion, these traditional uses of manure generate the gap between the poor and the rich.
- Select from some of the BIOGAS videos on YouTube and then compare them with the Cow Patties that tribal India uses
Biogas production is expensive to make since it involves building a biogas plant that includes biodigester and bio construct. Primarily, biogas is created by taking the organic matter and then converting it to energy. On the contrary, cow patties are cheap since they are dried in the sun and used as fuel fires. Cow patties were useful for Hindu rituals to ignite the Hindu sacred fire, yajna, as an essential constituent making of panchgavya. There is also medicinal value related to cow patties against some disorders. Similar to cow patties, biogas is also eco-friendly. Biogas is derived from organic matter like cow dung just as cow patties.