Cabildo indomestizo Guane, Lache ethnic group, reserve
La Serranía.
Colombia, Santander, San Andres
2016
Transition Area
Fair Energetics
- Alternative energy supply.
- Energy efficiency
- Integration of different energy uses
- Energy access for local communities
The first experience they had in relation to community energy was more than 10 years ago with alternative cultivation systems: thanks to some processes they carried out with Agrovida, the idea of improving the ways of using the land’s energy to grow cleaner crops without so many chemicals was born.
Then, about 5 years ago, people from Censat Agua Viva and Fundaexpresión came to build efficient stoves, so the organization talked to them and told them that they needed to dry the seeds and plants, so they got their support to make the whole assembly; since then they have been working with the solar dehydrator.
Later, when they requested the installation of electricity in the house, the people from the electrification company explained to them that, because it was in an area very far from the connection and because it was in a zone of influence of the law of delimitation of moorlands, it was not possible to have a connection, which led them to think about what other alternatives they could access to have a source of energy to feed the house. Again they turned to the people who had helped them with the dehydrator and they recommended the solar panel and also helped them with the whole process and assembly.
Technical characteristics of the proposal
Alternative cultivation systems:
Cosmic agriculture, a circular or spiral planting system with a copper wire antenna buried between stones in the center. This model makes it possible to collect the energy of the universe which, in turn, is distributed throughout the crop, improving production capacity, plant growth, helping to reduce pests and therefore the use of agrochemicals. This means better health and less disease.
At this moment in the spiral they have quinoa, vegetables, blackberry and some medicinal plants. This supplies the family’s consumption and the rest is marketed and used as raw material for the production of medicinal products.
As part of the alternative cultivation systems they have seed pyramids made of wood and cardboard and serve to conserve native and clean seeds. The capacity they have as seed guardians is between 10 and 15 kilos, but they hope to be able to expand this capacity and thus have the possibility of conserving, exchanging and selling more seeds.
Their efficient cultivation system also has a greenhouse of approximately 240 square meters, made of wood and plastic, where they grow about 20 kilos of onion, 50 to 60 kilos of medicinal plants and, on a smaller scale, also quinoa, uchuva and yacon. These crops, which are harvested every 15 days, are used to support the household and also for marketing.
The solar dehydrator is made of wood, black and white plastic and has a capacity to dry 10 kilos of seeds and medicinal plants every 5 or 6 days, depending on the sun. The medicinal plants that are cultivated are used for the elaboration of products such as massage oils and also for drinking. As part of their plans, they hope to expand the dehydrator’s capacity.
The solar power plant is a 190v panel, with a 12v battery and a capacity of 155ft, has a 2,000W inverter and a charge controller. The panel generates enough energy to power 6 light bulbs, a radio, the electric fence, a blender and a computer inside the house. In the future, they hope to have other appliances.
Productive, community, environmental, or economic processes or activities that were positively impacted by the implementation of the community experience of TEJ.
This community energy experience is associated with an agricultural process in which food, aromatic and medicinal plants are sown and cultivated.
It is also linked to a productive process where they produce raw materials and transform them into medicinal products that are marketed, as well as seeds, plants, vegetables and greens that exceed household consumption.
They also process food and produce medicinal products using traditional and ancestral knowledge. These products are marketed under the name of Asociación Cabildo Indomestizo Guane etnia Lache.
Beneficiaries of the experience
1 family composed of 2 men
Achievements and problems encountered during implementation
ACHIEVEMENTS:
- Environmental conservation: solar energy does not depend on damming rivers or building huge, planet-killing projects, nor does it depend on coal. It is an alternative energy that does not pollute.
- Agroecological production: they are committed to the alternative of producing food and plants without chemicals, with less chance of disease.
- Open tourism possibilities in the region: their work has attracted the attention of many people and organizations that want to come and learn about their process and alternative forms of energy. This interest in people from outside the area allows them to see this experience as a potential to attract sustainable tourism, create awareness by teaching visitors and generate economic resources.
PROBLEMS:
- Cost of materials and their transportation to the house due to the distance involved.
- Quality of materials: they have found it difficult to obtain good quality materials because they do not have enough information to know which are the best. For example, the panel’s inverter burned out twice after it was installed; fortunately, the company changed it and offered them the alternative of a higher capacity inverter, since the one they initially had was not strong enough. This, although overcome, brought them difficulties in terms of time and money.
- The technical part and the lack of specialized labor: access to the knowledge of technical aspects related to the panel and to labor with knowledge in the assembly and repair of the greenhouse, because in the region there are not many, nor people who know how to work them, so it has been difficult to repair or maintain them.
Women’s participation in the TEJ community experience
Women have become involved through reflection and interest in learning about these alternative energies. Sometimes the women, the children of the family and the children of the village go, ask questions and sometimes collaborate in the process. In this way, they are interested in the functioning of energies and crops.
Impact of the community experience of TEJ on public policy
Some time ago, the Mayor’s Office of Malaga learned about the process and was interested in using this experience as an example. Thus, they presented a project, which was approved, to install all the public lighting in the municipality with solar panels. However, no results have been seen so far.
Also, a priest from a nearby church has taken an interest in the process and plans to install panels for the church.