Project proposal for

Biomass briquetting for Lantana de-weeding around

Parasmaniya Pathaar in Uccherra Block

JUNE 2015
Submitted for financial support to

Madhya Pradesh State Biodiversity Board (MPSBB), Bhopal

for the period July 15 - March 2016.

By

The Covenant Centre for Development (CCD)

Durg, (CG) & Jabalpur, (M. P.)
DURG- Bajpayi Bhavan, Deepak Nagar, Opp. Railway Station, Durg city,
Chhattisgarh, PIN 491001, Ph. +91-788-2210162, Mob. 91-9424102440&
JABALPUR- 211/B, Ravindra Nager, Adhartal, PIN- 482004, Mob. 09926004517
Email Address - ccdnorth@gmail.com, Web: www.ccdgroup.org

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This is a small project proposal for bio-fuel briquetting from the Lantana weed around Parasmaniya Pathaar in
Uccherra Block to improve the habitat quality for the wildlife. Sustainable livelihoods will also be promoted in the effort for the

tribal community, especially the women to empower them through regular income generation. Regular marketing channel with the
nearby industries will be established & capacity of the
community based organization Sarjana Samajik Sanskritik avm Sahaitik Manch (CBO) will be built in business management, bank
linkage & exposure.
We will work with the village Biodiversity Management Committee (BMC) at Gadoth G.P. in Uccherra block, our regular partners. The
project budget is Rs. 3.68 lakh & period is 9 months. It would generate income for 10-15 women regularly in the briquetting unit &
marketing, while 100 forest produce gatherers in Latana collection occasionally.
Introduction
Lantana weed infestation in & around protected areas is a national problem, rampant in Madhya Pradesh
state too. It reduces the habitat value for the wildlife. It is proposed to reduce it by using Lantana bushes
as biofuel briquetting raw material, which would lead to regular harvest & removal of Lantana from the
forest area. An initiative is taken in this direction by a Bangalore based NGO named Ashoka Trust for
Research in Environment & Ecology (ATREE, www.atree.org) who started promoting Lantana based
furniture production through tribal community at Biligiri Rangan Hills (BRH) wildlife sanctuary in Karnataka
& its sales in Bangalore. This was supported by the local forest department, amongst others.
The agri-residue or weedy biomass is useful as a fuel substitute for petrol, diesel, gas and electricity, in
rural, backward, forested tracks & a low cost, promising renewable energy technology. Biomass briquette
can replace the traditional biomass based fuels, notably wood (see Annexe 1 for more details). Harvest
Energy Pvt. Ltd., (HEPL), Bhopal has promoted such technology in the state to run mobile phone towers
of various companies. The technology is initially developed by the College of Agriculture Engineering,
Indore of the Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR). We have leant this technology &
successfully demonstrated at Rewa forest division at the call of the local forest department in 2012 & is
running successfully even today. Its recent newspaper coverage is attached as an example of lasting &
sustainable endeavor (Annex 2).
We propose to replicate it around the Parasmaniya Pathaar where Sarjana Samajik Sanskritik avm Sahaitik Manch have
been working since last 10 yrs with the BMC at G.P.Gadoth in Uccherra block.The
purpose of the project is to pilot this approach for wildlife habitat management & promote it elsewhere
when successful.

Goal
The project goal is to reduce the exotic weed pressure viz. Lantana on wildlife habitat near Parasmaniya Pathaar & also
build sustainable livelihoods for the tribal in promoting cleaner, renewable, low cost
bio-fuel technology.

Project Objectives
To improve the wildlife habitat quality by continuous removal of the exotic weed Lantana.

To provide economic incentives to the local tribal community to do so by adding value to the

weed biomass as bio-fuel briquettes

To build the local community capacity to run the bio-briquette unit sustainably & market the
briquettes to industry in the cities/ towns nearby profitably.
To generate rural income, empower the women
To explore the use of the bio-briquettes for smokeless stove to reduce the fuel wood harvest
pressure on the forest & drudgery reduction of the women

Project Methodology:

The project will adopt the following components while implementing the methodology to achieve the
expected results:
(1) Baseline study- Study of wildlife damage caused by the Lantana invasion in the forest & the resource
mapping. We will find & map Lantana infested area, productivity per acre/ year, contrast this with the
forest map to depict correlation between forest degradation, Lanatna infestation & its completion for the

forest tree saplings, besides if any reduction in wildlife density.

We will select 3-5 villages along the high way and 2-3 villages each along the trekking routes for pilot
project implementation.
(2) Market survey- study markets in cities/ towns nearby to find buyers for the briquettes & also explore
scope for smokeless stoves in the villages nearby.
The later will be studied by finding the family budget, hazards of fuel wood based cooking for the women
& their willingness to pay (WTP) for clean fuel options like smokeless stoves & bio-briquettes. Scope of
donor driven projects for clean kitchens/ fuels will be explored & tapped also e.g. www.clean
(3) Capacity building- Training the village community in Biomass briquetting & selection of group to run it
viably, set up the briquetting unit & handholding for a few months as done in Rewa forest division earlier.
Three entrepreneurs, especially women, from each village (10-15 in total) will be trained and
equipped with suitable technology, kiln or charring drums, crushing manually or with machine,
moulds and manual or machine compressing, etc. for briquette production.
At least 1 set of charring drum and accessories will be distributed on cost sharing basis to the
interested entrepreneurs. In case of villages, technique of constructing kiln and using it for
production of charcoal will be taught and necessary accessories will be provided on cost sharing
basis.
About 100 tribal families who are poor will get regular Lantana collection work & 10-15 women in
the briquette making and marketing, where some men can also assist them. They will be
registered as enterprise/ small scale industry when appropriate, in the district industries centre.
Various Govt. schemes of the ministry of new & renewable department will be linked to them &
bank linkage will be provided for financial stability to make it a role model.
Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) such as primary cooperative will be strengthened here
for long-term sustainability of the intervention. Concepts of self-reliance and good environmental
governance will be promoted. The project will promote community-based cooperatives to
undertake forestry & bio diversity management, faire trade & disaster resilience by improving the
income, savings, bank/ loan linkage as well as reducing fire risk to the forest/ villages. Other
donor links will be tapped e.g. Partnership for Clean Indoor Air (PCIA, http://www.pciaonline.org).
(4) Evaluation & exit plan- impact assessment of the initiative will be done by asking the villagers, forest
guards & experts if any changes noticed in(a) wildlife occurrence/ sighting in the Lantana harvested area than earlier
(b) continued resource availability for the bio-briquetting unit
(c) economic benefit to the tribal community who collect Lantana & the women who run the unit
(d) any economic or logistic (convenience, no smoke etc.) benefit to the industries who use the
bio-briquettes than fuel wood/ cattle dung/ agri-residue etc.

4A 2-3 years business plan will be prepared by consulting various stakeholders for the long term

sustainability of the proposed unit at Gadoth. Plan will also be made, if found feasible, to expand it or
replication elsewhere for greater & continuing impact on the wildlife habitat & the tribal community.

Project activity monitoring will be done CCD, every quarter & reports will be submitted to the donor & experts
will be also consulted on the project progress & any improvements needed.
Outcomes expected
Habitat quality improvement & better wildlife quality around Parasmaniya Pathaar.
Increased awareness and skills among the tribal community to produce & use improved bioenergy
for economic sustainability & decent livelihoods
Income generating opportunity for 20-50 or even 100 tribal families
Increased capacity of the community for profitable marketing of bio-resource than selling herbs/
other NTFP.

TIME SCHEUDLE
S.N
o
01
02
03
04
05
06
07
08

ACTIVIES
1

MONTHS
4
5
6

Baseline Survey of potential sites

Market survey
Identification of BMCs/Entrepreneurs
Training to target groups
Practical demo
Delivery of equipments
Production of Char Briquettes
Marketing of Briquettes

PRODUCTIVITY & INCOME/ KILN WORKER:

Char Production in 1batch=1kiln

40 kg

1kiln X 3batch/day Char production

120 kg
600 kg

Production in 5 kilns
Monthly Char production in 5 kilns

1500 kg

Total usable quantity of Binder in a Month (12 to 15%)

2000 kg

Total production of Charcoal in a month (Char+Binder)

17000 kg

Weight loss during dry(12 to 15%)

2000 kg

Good quality Dry Charcoal receivable

15000 kg

Group Home consumable qty.of charcoal(10% of prod.)

1500 kg

Charcoal for Sale

Total payment received by Charcoal sale @8.00/kg
Per month expense(installment, Electricity& other exp)
Total Income to Group (15 members)
Per Member Earning per month

13500 kg
1,08,000.00
12,500.00
95,500.00
6,366.66 say 6,400.00

5 BUDGET

A) PLANT & MACHINERY

S.N
Particulars
o
1
Char Klin
2
Solder Mounted Cutter
Briquetting
Machine(with motor)
3
4
5
6
7

Bag Stitching Mch

Weighing Mch
Operating tools 1set
Tarpulins
Sub Total

Tax(14.5)

Unit

Cost/Unit

Amount

5
1
1

10,500.00
32,000.00
85,000.00

52,500.00
32,000.00
85,000.00

2
1
1
2

5,500.00
12,000.00
5,000.00
5,000.00

11,000.00
12,000.00
5,000.00
10,000.00
2,07,500.00
30,087.5

Transportation Cost

25,000.00
2,62.587.00

Total Plant & Machinery Cost

B) WORKING CAPITAL
S.No.

1
2
3
4

PARTCULARS
Cost of Bags for packing(16 bags/day
Raw Material arrangements & Marketing
Storage (rent)
Electricity & Utilities
Total
TOTAL Working Capital Expenses:- 3
months cycle:-

Monthly Rs.

4,800.00
15,000.00
4,500.00
3,500.00
27,800.00
83,400.00

Total Budget:
S.No.

PARTCULARS

Plant & Machinery

Working Capital
Training(Rs. 750 X1 X100 members)
Admin & Monitoring cost( 15% of total cost)
Total Budget

Amt.in Rs.

2,62.587.00
83,400.00
75,000.00
4,20,987.00
63,148.05
4,84,135.00

(Rs.Four lakh eighty four thousand one hundred thirty five only)
6. Annex 1-

BRIQUETTING UNIT

Briquetting works on the basic concept of Wealth from Waste. It converts all types of agriculture, forestry
and industrial waste into solid fuel. Briquette replaces conventional fossil fuels and can be used across
various manufacturing facilities such as boilers, furnaces and kilns. Bio-Briquette is eco-friendly which
helps to reduces pollution, contributing to greener environment and save worthy foreign exchange.
Agricultural & Forest waste is converted to solid biofuel by farmers by installing of the Briquetting plant.
The briquettes are used for energy generation helping farmers to earn money from the waste.

Economic Feasibility & Profitability

This project of briquetting plant have major advantages as follow:
a. Landless/ farmers earn by selling agro waste of every crop & are thus renewable.
b. High profitability & Employment potential.
c. Excellent market & growth potential
d. Wide variety, easy availability, supply of agro waste of every crop & are thus renewable.
e. Early Pay Back Period.
f. Maintenance of ecological balance & conservation of the natural resources.
g. Saving of foreign currency in importing fossil fuels.

Incentives / Promotional Steps By Government

To promote this project govt. of India has announced series of incentives for putting up such plants of the
entrepreneurs engaged in developing alternative energy source.

The Major Incentives Are:

1. 100% Depreciation:
Total value of plant and Machinery is allowed to be depreciated in the first year. Under Section : Solid
agro waste
2. Excise Exemption:
Solid fuel briquettes are completely exempted from excise duty.
3. Sales Tax : Exemption:
Several States have exempted solid fuels briquette from sales Tax.
4. Benefits of Priority Sector:
Energy being priority sector & considering the cost of project benefits of SSI & Priority Sector are
available.(-2-) In addition to above incentives being offered by Govt. It is seen that Govt. has taker this project
on their top most priority and considering of more incentives to the enterpreneurs
5. Benefits of Income Tax
100% INCOME TAX exemption for first five years under section 50 JJA clause 51

Potential Buyers:
Industrial Use of Briquettes Commonly known as white Coal is in many industrial like.
1. Brick Kilns
2. Ceramic Units
3. Paper Mills
4. Spinning Mills
5. Solvent Extraction Plants
6. Chemical Plants Food Processing Units
7. Dryer and Ovens to Generate Hot Air.
8. Hotels 10. Milk Plant & Dairy
9. Bakery Industry
10. Leather Industry
11. Distillaries
12. Dyeing House
13. Vegetables Unit

7,SPECIFICATION OF BIOMASS FOR BRIQUETTING:

More than 20 types of biomass have been utilized in India to densify into biomass briquette. These
are as given below:
RESIDUE FROM AGRO
PROCESSING INDUSTRY
AGRICULTURAL RESIDUES HORTICULTURE/ FOREST RESIDUES
Sugarcane Bagasse Mustard Husk Wood Waste
Rice Husk Soya Bean Husk Twigs, leaves, etc
Groundnut Shell Cane Trash Lantana
Press Mud Cotton Stalk Wild Grasses
De oiled Cake Wheat Straw Market Yard Waste

Briquette Making Process

Biomass is shredded & mixed with the sticky clay soil as binder. When briquettes are produced using
charring drum, funnel is inverted first inside the drum; dried materials are then spread over funnel
and burnt. As the dried biomass materials start burning a little, dried materials are continued to add
and burn. Raw materials should not be burnt completely. Chimney is attached to the top of the
inverted funnel through which white smoke is ejected. The process of semi burning of biomass is
done layer by layer until the drum is filled 2/3 rd. Then the chimney is taken out and drum is covered
and water-sealedto completely extinguish the fire. Once the fire is extinguished and cooled down
then the coal is taken out, pounded into powder, mixed with the binding sticky clay soil with water all
in appropriate ratio (3 parts of coal: 1 part of binding clay soil). Then the well-mixed coal is put in the
briquette mould and compressed well with hand or machine. The briquette is then taken out and
dried for 2-3 days under the sun. While drying, briquettes should be kept on a plane and hard surface
and should be covered with plastic during the night to protect from rain and wind. Once the briquette
is dried and hard, its ready to burn a stove/ boiler/ furnace. When produced manually, 1 person can
make about 30 round beehive briquettes with 19 holes through which blue fire-flame comes out when
burnt. Depending on the quality of briquettes, 1 beehive briquette burns for an 1-2.5 hours. If the
semi-burnt charcoal is machine pressed, it improves efficiency. The cost of the briquette ranges from
Rs. 7-10/ kg. A
normal meal for a nucleus family of 4-5 members can be cooked with 0.5 kg biomass briquette.