Las Aves Agricultural and Livestock Educational Institution
Colombia, Cauca, Santander de Quilichao
2018
Transition Area
Fair Energetics
- Alternative energy supply.
- Energy access for local communities
- Changing patterns of use and consumption
The Institución Educativa Agropecuaria las Aves decided to replicate a biodigester following the commitment of local families and in order to make use of the waste from the animals and students of the institution.
The institution is located in indigenous territory and has an agricultural focus, these aspects allow us to be aware of the importance of caring for the territory through the generation of clean energy, which can be integrated with cultural and productive processes and thus improve social, economic and political dimensions.
Clean energies are an alternative to the monopoly that generates the destruction of the planet by companies, which appropriate the common goods of rural communities (indigenous, peasants, Afro) to obtain profitability from energy generation. For this reason, the Las Aves Educational Institution installed the biodigester for students to learn about and reflect on energy sovereignty issues.
In rural areas, human excrement is not treated because in many places there is no sewage system, so latrines and septic tanks are used, which have a limited duration and often their poor construction ends up contaminating the environment, as is the case in the municipality of Santander de Quilichao in the department of Cauca.
Technical characteristics of the proposal
The biodigester consists of a closed and hermetic reactor, in which organic waste is deposited so that anaerobic bacteria, through enzymes, transform methane into biogas, to be used as fuel for stoves, boilers, or converted into electricity.
It has an installed capacity of 30,000 liters or 30 cubic meters, but only 30% is gas, as the rest is water and organic matter. It is quantified with a gasometer or flow meter and an anti-backflow valve; this set allows for a more accurate measurement of the amount of biogas that the system generates.
There is a reservoir made of the same plastic, where the gas is purer, which functions as a pipe (cylinder). In addition, materials such as equipment, materials that are PVC accessories are used, 8-gauge commercial polyethylene plastic, male and female adapters, tie-down tires, stopcocks, reducers, hydrogen sulfide filters (H and S), blower to increase pressure, infrared lamps for animal heating, polyethylene biogas line (150 meters) and condensate traps.
Video of the experience: https://youtu.be/rT8UiYFwh70
Productive, community, environmental, or economic processes or activities that were positively impacted by the implementation of the community experience of TEJ.
The community energy experience carried out at the Las Aves Educational Institution, develops an academic curriculum that integrates biology, chemistry, communication, technology, computer science, mathematics and agricultural training.
Beneficiaries of the experience
170 families composed of 150 adolescents (between 13 and 18 years of age) and 180 boys and girls (between 0 and 12 years of age)
Achievements and problems encountered during implementation
ACHIEVEMENTS:
- Reduce the amount of waste discharged into ecosystems.
- Substitute the use of fossil fuels for biogas, in order to have energy autonomy spaces.
- Reduce energy consumption and avoid the purchase of chemical fertilizers.
- Reducing G.I.E. (greenhouse gas) emissions
- The energy issue has been positioned within the internal debates of the organizations, and the importance of returning to traditional energy production systems has been recognized.
PROBLEMS:
- Initially, there was a rejection by parents and the community in general, due to the difficulty of abandoning the dependence forged by the consumerist model that monopolizes energy. We have worked with students on the subject of alternative energies in the curriculum, and with parents we hold workshops at parent-teacher meetings.
- Lack of knowledge on the part of the community of the energy possibilities associated with the resources found in the territory. To overcome this, the environmental economic program is developing clean energy projects with some families, schools and environmental organizations, which formulate clean energy projects for the area.
Women’s participation in the TEJ community experience
The women involved in the experience (teachers, mothers, students) have received training in energy issues, so that they can formulate related projects and participate in their implementation.
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