Methane released from cow dung is 22 times more harmful than carbon dioxide, but this very same methane can also be used for good. A new African invention is cheaply and simply turning this dung into gas for cooking - and at the same time, changing people's lives.

The UN's International Fund for Agricultural Development, or IFAD, joined forces with the Rwandan government to promote the use of clean renewable energy in the country.

Three years ago Pacifique Musabyimana was left an orphan. 25 years old, with six brothers and sisters as well as her own three year old child to look after, she was finding it impossible to cope. Everything changed for her when IFAD selected Pacifique as one of over one hundred poor farmers to try out a new system called Flexibiogas - designed by Kenyan company Biogas International.

Now, every day Pacifique collects dung to feed her digester, a six-metre long PVC sack.

Inside organic waste heat ups, ferments and releases methane gas, which is piped directly to her kitchen. From the other end comes a potent organic fertiliser which improves soil fertility without the use of chemicals. Pacifique uses what she needs for her vegetable patch and sells the rest. She is not only reducing damage to the atmosphere, but also saving time and money.

With the success of the first test of the Flexibiogas system, a further 200 will be distributed in 2015, with a plan to manufacture them locally, creating much needed jobs while also promoting renewable energy solutions for a cleaner future.