The first Virtual Exhibition of TEJ’s community experiences was the result of an interesting combination of analysis and struggles. On the one hand, in the last 15 years the notion of energy transition began to gain strength, but much, much earlier, communities and organizations that question the development model and the implications of extractive energy projects. in the territories, had been raising and defending the idea of energy sovereignty of the peoples and for the peoples. energy sovereignty of the peoples and for the peoples. . That is why, at an international meeting held in Bogota at the end of 2019, we analyzed with other organizations that the energy transition is just one part of the energy sovereignty The latter proposes a fundamental transformation of the model as a whole, taking into account all its consequences, but also present and historical responsibilities, while the former tends to remain in the search for the transformation of the sources of electricity generation, without questioning, more often than not, the why and wherefore it is required.

That is why, when the pandemic began in 2020, community alternatives and practices did not stop their bid to transform the energy model, but they were forced to change their ways of working. That is why it was found that a good way to continue the reflection and action was to create this virtual public display of the grassroots efforts that have been building to give this energy transition the missing ingredient: justice.

With this great objective and with the conviction that this is not an issue exclusive to Colombia, we proposed to other organizational processes that they also be conveners of this virtual Exhibition, so in this effort converge, in addition to Censat Viva, the Collective of Peasant and Community Reserves of Santander, Crccs, of which Fundaexpresión is part, the Sowing Communities of Territories, Waters and Autonomies, Setaa, affected by the Hidroituango project in Antioquia and are part of the Ríos Vivos Movement, the Energy and Equity Working Group, where actors from Chile, Argentina, Colombia and Ecuador converge, seeking to connect the debate on energy transition between the academic world and social organizations, as well as the Movement of People Affected by Dams in Latin America, MAR, which has been raising the need to build an alternative society and a popular energy model.

In this first sample in 2020, the work of women, who in the majority of cases are the leaders of the experiences, that is to say, they are the protagonists of the community energy models, was very noteworthy.

In this first version of the Exhibition, a total of 27 initiatives from four Latin American countries participated, showing various ways in which popular ingenuity is put into practice in the TEJ, to break relationships of dependence and achieve autonomy. The first exhibition was dominated by experiences with biodigesters, dehydrators, photovoltaic systems and micro-hydroelectric power plants.

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The contents presented below were taken from the responses of the experiences registered; in some cases we edited the wording, but their main ideas are preserved, so that the contexts in which the experiences emerge and the challenges behind these implementations can be known. In addition, you can consult the materials and technical stakes that made its construction possible, as well as the description of some complications that occurred in its execution, together with the way its promoters found to overcome those obstacles.