Association of Agricultural Entrepreneurs of Garzón, Empaga
Colombia, Huila, Garzón
2019
Transition Area
Fair Energetics
- Alternative energy supply
- Changing patterns of use and consumption
- Integration of different energy uses
- Access to energy for local communities, heat generation
After the construction of the El Quimbo hydroelectric dam, some people began to reflect on energy projects, especially those that generate so much energy, but the communities only receive the environmental, social and economic damages. Thus, in Huila, the costs that users must pay for electricity are very high despite having such a large power generating dam in its territory, which left irreparable environmental damage, hectares of fertile land flooded, contamination due to loss of fauna and flora that was left decomposing in the water and thousands of trees cut down.
In addition, many families were displaced, lost their livelihoods and never even received compensation, leaving a high percentage of older adults in a situation of hopelessness due to the difficulties caused by the change in their way of life and the lack of job opportunities.
All this led them to question the ways they had of doing things and to be able to help mitigate environmental impacts and to remember their ancestry, how their grandparents lived, who had customs where the generation of energy needed for homes did not cause so much impact and destruction to the ecosystem.
Empaga has generated bonds of fraternity, hope and solidarity, but it has also been a reference for teaching people in the community how to produce alternative energy without harming the environment. In that framework, the «Ajisosos» charcoal briquettes are their third alternative energy experience and have helped them bring the clean energy message to more people. They started with the solar dehydrator, then with the bicylinder for the transformation of chili peppers and hope to continue making transformations.
Technical characteristics of the proposal
At the moment the experience meets the capacity to produce enough briquettes to maintain the operation of the oven where the «Ajisosos» food products are dried and processed, a community enterprise of cultivation, harvesting and processing of peppers and fruits of the area, as well as the consumption needs in the homes of the members of the organization and the commercialization of some of them.
Briquettes are made by drying and roasting biomass left over from production processes in the region, such as some sugar mills, and also using biomass resulting from the felling of trees for the El Quimbo hydroelectric power plant. This process is carried out in a solar dehydrator. After the drying and roasting process, the biomass is processed in a pelletizer that pulverizes the material to make briquettes.
In addition to the solar dehydrator and the pelletizer, a briquetting machine is used to give the final shape and size of the briquette.
Productive, community, environmental, or economic processes or activities that were positively impacted by the implementation of the community experience of TEJ.
The «Ajisosos» charcoal briquettes were created as an alternative to generate the necessary energy for the oven where the chili peppers are dried and food is transformed, for example, chili bell pepper jams with local fruits.
«Ajisosos» is a productive project that grows, transforms and elaborates food with chili as the main raw material and charcoal briquettes.
The briquettes were initially developed as an alternative that would supply the need for electricity for the drying and transformation oven, then to supply the need for firewood on the farms of the people, as many do not have electricity, but also became an alternative to improve the quality of life of people by generating income for those who are part of the community process, giving them back the possibility of a decent job.
Beneficiaries of the experience
25 families composed of: 30 women, 22 men, 12 youth (ages 13 to 18) and 20 children (ages 0 to 12).
Achievements and problems encountered during implementation
ACHIEVEMENTS:
- They have succeeded in raising awareness among the population about the transition to clean energy, as each person who uses the briquettes receives information about the need not to cut down trees for firewood and to reuse. The commercialization has allowed them to share their experience and that other people want to join the change, as in the case of some panela producers who have donated the biomass that remains from the production process and that sometimes becomes problematic for them, for not having the proper disposal of these organic materials that can generate penalties.
- Another important achievement of the experience has been to mitigate environmental pollution by using materials that will no longer generate pollution, making good use of the biomass resulting from different processes and projects, as in the case of the El Quimbo hydroelectric plant, which generated a large amount of this material.
- The third achievement they highlight is at the community level, as this project has given people the opportunity to believe in themselves, regardless of age. This project has a majority of women, young people and older adults.
PROBLEMS:
- The first problem they identified was the location of the briquetting plant. Initially they thought that the best strategy was to be in the urban area where there are greater possibilities of commercializing them, but when they tried to carry out the process they identified that they required more space and location. This situation was solved by doing the processing in Empaga, in the rural area, because they would have larger spaces for material storage and processing.
At the beginning it was not easy for them to determine the times and division of labor, until they organized themselves and chose a few days a week to do the minga, which has allowed them to be more organized and do a better job. - The transportation of biomass from the place where it is generated to the place where it is processed; sometimes the transportation must be done in a turbo truck increasing production costs.
- Regarding the technical part, as entrepreneurs in the agricultural sector, they have felt that there is no training designed to meet their specific learning needs. Sometimes SENA and the Chamber of Commerce provide training on general topics in the region, without understanding who they are and what they do, for example, they offer training in technologies for people who do not have equipment or electricity.
- At the moment they have identified that their biggest problem is the lack of an enclosed space in which to make briquettes with good practices and greater sanitation, as they are working outdoors and do not have the required conditions to make a more optimal process.
Women’s participation in the TEJ community experience
The process of women’s involvement in this experience has been very satisfactory, because when the mingas began, the men always said: «the women for the kitchen, to prepare the food, and the men for the cultivation», until one day they decided that this was not what they wanted from a community work where everyone had to do what they liked and knew how to do, so they began to take turns in the kitchen.
Lunchtime is always their space for dialogue and reflection, so in these moments of sharing they began to identify their strengths: some women were good at plowing and cultivating, others at processing and elaborating, and they also identified the weaknesses they had in doing other things. Little by little these moments became a place for dialogue, expressing their feelings and weaving bonds of solidarity.
They began to share their knowledge in order to help the other women and soon they were learning to weave, cook, make clay pots and have created a vegetable garden with aromatic herbs.
The role of women in this community experience is one of fraternity, of teaching, learning and unlearning; they have become friends, sisters, mothers and grandmothers.