Women play a pivotal, multifaceted role in the market for household biodigesters in Sub-Saharan Africa, acting as primary users and decision-makers, and increasingly as entrepreneurs and leaders in the biodigester and bioslurry fertiliser value chains. Their participation in the biodigester market is critical for the adoption and sustained use of the technology, and to long-term market growth. However, women face social realities that limit their full participation in the biodigester sector as entrepreneurs, employees and consumers.
This thematic brief presents lessons and recommendations from the SEE-Clean Cooking programme’s efforts to integrate gender and social inclusion in its activities in the Sahel region, specifically in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger. Drawing on case studies of individual women in the Sahel, and uncovering how gender norms and social relations have affected their access to and benefits from biodigesters, this brief offers practical orientations on what development programmes and policymakers can do to implement gender-responsive approaches in biodigester interventions in this region.
