Is LPG a Versatile Option for Rural Communities?

Rural communities in South Africa are remote and poorly serviced settlements where the inhabitants experience high unemployment, low incomes, limited choices and limited access to nearby towns or cities. Amenities are few and life is tough. 

 

Under these circumstances, when struggling to meet their daily basic needs, like energy for cooking and heating, people will most likely choose the least expensive option and disregard any risks these choices pose. 

 

Most South African Rural Communities:

  1. Burn wood, coal and other fuels, for cooking purposes, inside or within close proximity of their home creating a health hazard. 
  2. Regularly fetch and transport these fuel resources, usually on foot and in all weathers, which can be an arduous and time-consuming exercise.
  3. Exhaust these available resources which, over time, become reduced or depleted.
  4. Use paraffin or wax candles, for lighting or heating, which are potential fire hazards. We regularly hear news reports of homes, or several adjacent, too closely-built homes, burned down and deaths or injuries caused by unsafe and negligent use of these.
  5. Cook on open fires using pots that are not well-balanced, or on sturdy bases, which often topple causing accidents, such as fire and injuries.

 

Survival, for Rural Communities, the most impoverished of our society, relies on risky, challenging and primitive fuel gathering and fuel usage methods. If only they knew about LPG!

 

What is LPG?

LPG, or Liquefied Petroleum Gas or Liquid Petroleum Gas, is an efficient energy source produced during natural gas processing and the refining of petroleum.   LPG is stored as a liquid under pressure in gas bottles or tanks.

What are the Benefits of Using LPG in Rural Communities?

 LPG’s benefits are that it:

  1. Is pure, and very consistent in quality and heat regulation.
  2. Is easy to use.
  3. Is portable.
  4. Burns cleanly so it does not produce any smoke or smells.
  5. Burns cleanly so it does not create any health issues such as respiratory infections, heart or pulmonary diseases, or even lung cancer.
  6. Lights up quickly and easily.
  7. Cooks quickly and the kitchen does not get as heated as with other fuel types.
  8. Has a lower greenhouse impact. 
  9. Has multiple uses – cooking, lighting, water- and home-heating.
  10. Can be used in remote places where normal gas supplies are not available. 
  11. Is bottled in cylinders which are fairly light weight and not too heavy to carry.
  12. Is bottled in refillable cylinders making it more cost-effective.
  13. Is used with appliances which offer a solid and sturdy base on which to cook and so avoid accidents, such as spillage, toppling.

Why Are Rural Developers Opting to Use LPG?

In addition to the general benefits of LPG listed above, Rural Developers are opting for LPG as a cost-effective alternative to mains gas, because LPG:

  1. Is the lowest carbon fossil fuel available for rural communities.
  2. Needs fewer building adaptations than electricity or gas.
  3. Installations are less expensive.
  4. Causes less upheaval to the development site, as it arrives by road in large tanks which are placed on site.
  5. Doesn’t pose any pollution risks to the ground or water.
  6. Doesn’t generate any hazardous waste.
  7. Can be used in remote areas.

 

When living conditions are deprived, people will resort unthinkingly to what is cheap, more easily available and familiar. But with a little more knowledge and education, and with a longer-term view in mind, they would see that they could experience a better standard of living by using LPG, the safer, healthier and more versatile option.

 

For more information on LPG, follow this link:https://www.simsgas.co.za/

Lemon Chicken Breast – Recipe on Gas.

Contact us below:
Phone: 031 902 6533
Email: 
sales@simsbp.co.za
https://simsgas.co.za/


 

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