Multi-active Cooperative, Coosavunidos
Colombia, Tolima, Natagaima, Coyaima, Prado, Dolores and Alpujarra
2020
Type of Technology
Transition Area
Fair Energetics
- Alternative energy supply
- Energy efficiency
- Changing patterns of use and consumption
- Integration of different energy uses
- Energy access for local communities
Type of technology
Photovoltaic solar systems, integrated to pumping and water collection, incubation of Creole eggs, refrigeration, electric fences, lighting with reflectors, production of concentrated animal feed with local raw materials.
Technical training of 13 community promoters in energy diagnosis, harmonization of productive practices to energy design, maintenance and repair of equipment and parts of photovoltaic energy generation systems.
Community revolving fund that includes financing for energy transition projects and productive projects based on a gender approach and local production systems.
Context in which the experience emerges
Energy inclusion as an engine for development focused on the indigenous communities of southern Tolima is a pilot project for the implementation of energy solutions linked to productive projects under previous development in Tamirco, Palma Alta and Ilarquito.
There, solar energy is related as an alternative to improve the quality of life of 117 families living in these territories, three components are articulated:
- Assembly of six types of energy solutions associated with community projects: solar irrigation pumps to access water for crops and animal feed, incubator for the recovery of Creole chicken breeds, electric fencing to reduce overgrazing and soil degradation, solar refrigeration and lighting system to ensure coolness in fish harvesting, and system for the production of concentrated animal feed to ensure the productive scaling of chickens, sheep and pigs.
- Training in technical skills and abilities to 12 indigenous men and women, to maintain the energy solutions, to carry out diagnostics, designs, maintenance, replication and sale of technological services to the communities themselves.
- Promotion of replication on a family scale, based on the financing provided by the community revolving fund that allows the maintenance and replication of the services from an economic point of view, which can be offered to other communities and replicated at a regional level.
This initiative involved financing provided by the Repic-Switzerland Agency, Fastenopfer Switzerland, with advice from EBP Chile and Corpoema, and community, economic and environmental management by Grupo Semillas, the Coosaviunidos Cooperative and the Ilarquito, Palma Alta and Tamirco reserves.
The organization’s problems that led to the implementation of this type of proposal are listed below:
- Unstable power supply, given the poor maintenance and quality of the networks and their irregular maintenance.
- High fossil fuel costs. Irrigation for agriculture, livestock and pond pumping is done with gasoline-powered plants.
- Limited access to technologies for food production, preservation and processing, which generates lost market opportunities.
- Water scarcity for at least 5 months of the year, which prevents regular production and marketing cycles and blocks medium- and long-term production initiatives.
- High migration of young people to the city due to lack of opportunities.
- Technological dependence. All the renewable energy processes previously promoted failed because they lacked the capacity for technical support.
- There are no community or institutional initiatives in this field.
Technical characteristics of the proposal
Tamirco Indigenous Reserve
Pumping:
1 submersible pump PS2-1800 C-SJ5-12 Brand Lorentz
Pump capacity: 1.7 kW
4 RISEN solar panels of 330 W
Aluminum panel structure
Controller PS_1800 – 1,8 Kw of power
Clamper Box 3E/1S
Drying and filling sensors
Grounding electrode
2 storage tanks of 2000 L
2 storage tanks of 1000 L
300 m of irrigation hose with 2″ hose couplings and clamps
Concrete tank structure
Reflectors or lamp all in one:
6 solar lamps with a capacity of 400 W Solar Ligth Brand
6 v solar panel: 40 w
Φtotal: 95994 lm
Ptotal: 2400.0 W
Luminous efficiency: 40.0 lm/W
Grounding electrodes
Refrigeration:
20 RISEN ENERGY panels with 330 w each.
Aluminum panel structure
Clamper Box
Controller 250V/100A
QUATTRO 48 Hybrid Inverter – 3 kVA (3000W) power – 120 VICTRON brand
Breaker DC Holder
AC Breaker Holder
Bank of 8 batteries TROJAN LH 16 48V – 435 AH
Battery production monitor
Manual transfer 2 steps
Grounding electrode
3 refrigerators of 708 L each Electrolux brand with energy efficiency label type A – consumption of 73.32 kW/month
Palma Alta Indigenous Reserve
Off grid – Incubation:
9 solar panels of 330W RISEN ENERGY brand.
Aluminum panel structure
VICTRON brand Multiplus 24/22 kW (2000W)/120V hybrid inverter
MPPT 250/100 controller
Clamper Box 3E/1S
2 Battery banks in series of 4 each (8 batteries of 6V each) TROJAN brand L16H 24V-290 Ah (voltage 24V, capacity 290 Ah)
Grounding electrode
Handcrafted incubator for 504 eggs – consumption 180 W/h
Pumping:
Lorentz PS2 150 BOOST 330 pump
2 solar panels with 330W capacity RINSEN ENERGY brand
Aluminum panel structure
PS2-150 controller with 0.3 kW power rating
Clamper Box 3E/1S
Grounding electrode
50 m of ½» pipe
Concrete tank structure
1 tank of 2000L
On grid – production of concentrates:
8 solar panels with 330 W power RISEN ENERGY Brand
Aluminum panel structure
Micro inverter – YC 600 – Apsistems 0,5 kw
16A two-pole thermo-magnetic circuit breaker
Board
Meter
75 KVA three-phase transformer
Grounding electrode
Trapp 400 JRTF – 400 forage harvester or shredder, 2 hp engine – 3600 rpm, green production 800-1200 kg/hr.
Ferton N°22 stainless steel grinder, productivity 60 Kg/h, Motor 850 W- 190 rpm
Resguardo Indígena Ilarquito
Pumping:
1 Submersible pump PS2-1800 C-SJ5-12 Brand Lorentz
Pump capacity 1,7 Kw
4 solar panels with power of 330 W each, RISEN ENERGY brand
Aluminum panel structure
Clamper Box
Pumping system controller PS 1800 Lorentz, 1,8 Kw of power
Drying and filling sensors
Grounding electrode
Structure for pump cal 16
700 m of hose, fittings and 2″ clamps
200 m of hose, fittings and 3″ clamps
Concrete tank structure
1 tank of 5000L
Electric fence:
1 panel of 280 W
Aluminum panel structure
Controller 10 A for 6w consumption
55 A – 12 V battery
B-7000 Impeller with range up to 200 km ELECTRA brand
Grounding electrode
18,190 m of 12 gauge aluminum wire, turnbuckles, insulators, insulating hose, marking, clamp, toe clips, etc.
- Fondo Rotatorio Comunitario del sur del Tolima – FOCOST, to carry out the maintenance and replication of energy models on a family scale. This fund has supported around 90 community projects with a high turnover rate and a low delinquent portfolio.
The projects focus on agroecological production, transformation of local production and support for youth and women’s initiatives. At the Assembly, the Fund approved a fourth line focused on promoting the replication on a family scale of technologies and productive proposals based on alternative energies (panels, biodigesters, efficient stoves). - Group of community technicians trained in energy diagnostics, formulation of productive projects and harmonization of productive practices to energy design, maintenance and repair of equipment and parts of photovoltaic energy generation systems.
Productive, community, environmental, or economic processes or activities that were positively impacted by the implementation of the community experience of TEJ.
This experience is linked to the productive processes previously developed in the indigenous communities, such as fish production in Tamirco, Creole egg production, sheep meat in Palma Alta and cattle production associated with silvopastoral systems and pancogeres in Ilarquito.
These processes have been promoted by the Manuel Quintín Lame Agroecological and Territorial School and have been sustained thanks to the benefits provided by the community self-managed savings groups and the Fondo Rotatorio del sur del Tolima, Focost.
Beneficiaries of the experience
117 families comprising 248 women, 296 men, 73 young people (between 13 and 18 years of age), 80 girls and 95 boys (between 0 and 12 years of age)
Achievements and problems encountered during implementation
ACHIEVEMENTS:
- Integration of approaches aimed at the autonomy of the communities: agroecology with emphasis on seed recovery and improvement of their own production systems, solidarity economy, territorial defense, organizational strengthening and use of the natural supply for the production of solar energy that serves to strengthen productive projects providing economic solutions, long-term sustainability, social stability and optimizing strategic resources in evident crisis such as water and energy.
- Inclusion of women’s and young people’s initiatives and strategies both in productive projects and in training as community technicians in renewable energies and in management with reservations and municipalities.
- Strengthening of a community financial strategy through the Fondo Rotatorio Comunitario del sur del Tolima- FOCOST, with the possibility of designing, adjusting and replicating local models and sustaining them in the long term.
Women’s participation in the TEJ community experience
In the formulation of the proposal, the community agreements, the implementation of technologies, training and in the assemblies of the Revolving Fund, the participation of women has been central, and they have also been involved in the design of the technologies and the different types of projects.
Criteria were established that will enhance the role of indigenous women and their specific knowledge, in actions such as the use of seeds, the rescue of local breeds of Creole hens, projects that promote autonomy and income generation. Priority has been given to differential access to revolving fund credit and efforts have been made to reduce workloads that require tasks such as carrying firewood or water.
The role of women who are in charge of government positions and in the acquisition of knowledge and skills required by the project has been promoted, such as the training of community technicians, as in the Manuel Quintín Lame School, where they acquire skills that allow them to guarantee their permanence in their territories and improve their quality of life, as they have the tools to design their plots and guide their production.
Women’s participation in the TEJ community experience
A proposal was presented to the Council and the Mayor’s Office of Natagaima within the framework of the formulation of the Municipal Development Plan, based on the use and exploitation of renewable energies for the strengthening of the rural sector, which was incorporated as follows: «Strategic axis 3: growth and development with environmental sustainability.
The proposal was not adequately incorporated and financed in the Development Plan, but it did promote discussions between institutions and local producers.
More information: