John Finlay: Father of Nepal’s gobar gas industry
Father of Nepal’s gobar gas industry John Finlay (3 October 1938 – 3 September 2007) DAVID MCCONKEY From Issue #366 (14 September 07 - 20 September 07), Nepali Times -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- John came to Nepal from Northern Ireland in 1973 to join the United Mission to Nepal (UMN). After some months of Nepali language study in Kathmandu, he was soon busy sharing his engineering skills with students at the Butwal Technical Institute (BTI). Another UMN staff member, a teacher from Scotland called Sheila Anderson, was working in the northern Gorkha village of Jaubari and as they got to know each other they decided to marry. After their wedding in Scotland in 1975, they returned to work in Butwal where they were also hostel parents to some of the BTI students. At this time John got involved in the development of biogas as an alternative fuel and helped in the production of the very first commercial unit built in Nepal. His passion was...