Rural communities in developing countries often have trouble securing dependable supplies of energy for cooking and lighting. But energy exists every where organic waste is breaking down. It is just a question of how to harness or make use of it.
发展中国家的农村社区通常很难保障做饭和照明所用能源的可靠供应。但是能源存在于分解有机垃圾的每一个地方，这只是一个如何利用的问题。
A Palestinian community in the West Bank has been successfully testing a device that turns food and animal wastes into biogas. The village of al-Awja has no running water or electric power. Solar panels provide energy from the sun, but not enough for cooking equipment. But as in many other parts of the world, villagers keep chickens, cows or other animals.
约旦河西岸的一个巴勒斯坦社区成功测试了一种将厨余和动物粪便转化为沼气的设备。奥贾村不通水电。太阳能电池板通过阳光提供能源，但是这些能源不足以用于烹饪设备。但是就像全球很多其它地方一样，这里的村民们喂养了鸡、奶牛和其它动物。
Recently, about 40 families started using portable devices that turn food and animal waste into methane gas. The European Union and the Peres Center for Peace provided money to pay for the devices.
最近，大约40个家庭开始使用将厨余和动物粪便转化为沼气的便携式设备。欧盟和佩雷斯和平中心为这些设备提供了资金。
One villager says, "This is a very good machine... The machine provides us with 70 to 80 percent of the gas that we need for our household."
一位村民表示，“这种机器很棒！它能为我们提供家庭所需燃气的70%到80%。”
An Israeli company, HomeBioGas, designed the machine, called a bio-digester. Anaerobic bacteria are added to the device the first time it is used. The bacteria helps break down organic waste. The bio-digester creates enough methane for cooking three meals a day. It also produces about 10 liters of liquid organic fertilizer.
以色列的家用沼气公司（HomeBioGas）设计了这种名为生物沼气池的设备。该设备在第一次使用时添加了厌氧细菌。厌氧细菌帮助分解有机废物。这种生物沼气池能够产生足够过的甲烷用于一日三餐。它还能产生约10升的液态有机肥。
Biogas is smokeless and has no smell. In addition to cooking, biogas can be used to heat water and for lighting devices. A built-in, hand-powered grinder helps break down the solid parts in household waste.
沼气没有烟也没有气味。除了烹饪，沼气还能用于烧水和照明。内置的手动砂轮机有助于分解坚硬的生活垃圾。
The HomeBioGas system is designed for areas where the daily temperature does not drop below 15 degrees Celsius. The price is about $2,500, a somewhat pricey amount for most families. So, communities must depend on aid from governments or private donors.
这种家用沼气系统是专为日常温度不低于15摄氏度的地方设计的。它的价格大约是2500美元，对大多数家庭来说有点昂贵。所以社区必须依靠政府或私人捐助者的援助。
But the designers note the system can also be useful in more wealthy communities that have organic waste which can be turned into clean energy.
但是设计师指出，这种系统对具有可转化为清洁能源的有机废物的更富裕的社区也很有用。
I'm Jonathan Evans.
我是乔纳森·埃文斯。(51VOA.COM对本文翻译保留全部权利，未经授权请勿转载，违者必究！)