Vadodara/Ahmedabad: Even as images of people queueing up for LPG cylinders become increasingly common amid the war-triggered supply crisis, some rural pockets in Gujarat offer a striking contrast. From solar steam kitchens feeding thousands at Goraj near Vadodara to dung-powered cooking gas in Mujkuva village near Anand and Kutch villages, local renewable energy systems are insulating communities from the fuel crunch. At Muni Seva Ashram in Goraj, solar-powered kitchens cook two meals a day for nearly 5,000 people. Nearly 80–85% of cooking requirements are met through solar energy and biogas. The campus houses the Kailash Cancer Hospital and Research Centre, four schools, hostels, old-age homes and several community facilities.The 5,000 people include patients, relatives, 2,500 residents on the campus and 1,800 students enrolled in the ashram’s schools, nursing institutes and vocational training centres.Most cooking is steam-based, allowing large-scale preparation of rice, dal and vegetables. Even oil-based dishes such as bhajiyas and puris are cooked using solar-powered systems.A key element is the ‘Big Dish’ solar concentrator developed by the Australian National University and Sunrise CSP Australia. It generates solar steam capable of cooking over 2,000 meals a day while also supporting the hospital’s laundry of nearly 1,000 kg and sterilisation needs.The concentrator utilises nearly 90% of the sunlight falling on its reflector—far higher than the roughly 20% conversion efficiency of conventional solar panels. The high-temperature steam also supports the hospital’s 200-ton AC system.Ashram chairman Vikram Patel said, “The model reflects the vision of founder Anuben Thakkar who believed service to society must go hand in hand with self-reliance and care for nature.”A similar story of self-reliance is unfolding in Mujkuva village near Anand, where women turned ‘gobar’ into ‘dhan’ through the Mujkuva Sakhi Khad Sahkari Mandali Ltd, the country’s first all-women manure-based cooperative.Launched in 2018 with just 25 members, the cooperative now has 150 women. Most families are engaged in animal husbandry and use cow dung to generate biogas for cooking.“Cooking fuel is never a concern for us, even though we live in a joint family of 10,” said Hema Padhiyar, who along with secretary Jagruti Padhiyar was invited by President Droupadi Murmu to Rashtrapati Bhavan during Republic Day celebrations.Members say each household saves about Rs 2,000 a month by avoiding LPG cylinders. The slurry from the plants is also sold as organic fertiliser to NDDB Mrida Limited, helping farmers adopt natural farming.In stark contrast to the panic seen across many parts of the country, Rekha Maharaj and nearly 50 other women in Kutch remain unfazed as their kitchens run on biogas plants installed over the last three years.“At many places there are long queues for LPG cylinders. It is a sad situation, but we are unaffected as our key input is dung, which is never out of stock. We collect dung every morning and evening, which is processed in the plants,” Maharaj said.Heena Dave of the Self-Employed Women’s Association said that over the past few years thousands of women have adopted biogas production under the organisation’s Swachh Akaash initiative instead of depending on LPG.
