New Horizons women’s community group
SETAA Communities
Colombia, Antioquia, Medellin
2019
Technology/s:
Transition Areas
Fair Energetics
- Self-supply with alternative energies
The neighborhood where the experience takes place is located on the boundary between the urban periphery and the rural areas; for this reason, there are tensions between the demand for new housing spaces from the city and the agricultural expansion from the rural areas; these conflicts are mitigated by the vegetable gardens of the participating organization, which emerged from the objective of stopping the use of agrochemicals.
This experience incorporated this type of alternative energy, which is clean because it is powered by the sun and avoids the use of conventional energy such as electricity, gas or firewood.
For the use of solar energy, the Pepe Breu Foundation provided the elements with which the tests were carried out.
The proposal seeks to promote a new cultural pattern that encourages the use of energies that enable autonomy and that are clean, that are articulated with other processes in a systemic way, promoting energy reduction through the NO USE of pesticides, artificial components; that recognizes the importance of healthy food that does not require a kilometer-long expenditure of energy for its mobilization.
Technical characteristics of the proposal
Parabolic stove, medium-sized wooden oven and small dehydrators in plastic boxes.
Productive, community, environmental, or economic processes or activities that were positively impacted by the implementation of the community experience of TEJ.
The experience is associated with a process of home and community gardens that began in 2008 and has received occasional support from various entities.
Beneficiaries of the experience
7 families, 7 children (under 12 years old), 7 youth (between 12 and 18 years old) and 8 women.
Achievements and problems encountered during implementation
ACHIEVEMENTS:
- Awareness raising and integration of women, young people and children around alternative energy
- Creative use is made of an energy source that is available many days of the year in the tropics.
- The popular and family economy is favored through sales at popular fairs.
PROBLEMS:
- The cost of the equipment, which has been made possible by an external foundation.
- Improvements were implemented in the proposals to make them more efficient.
- The place to locate the parabolic stove is very small, due to the fact that, being a popular neighborhood, the spaces are small.
Women’s participation in the TEJ community experience
The promoters of this experience are women; the men support the family economy, but it is the women who are in charge of the vegetable gardens and the operation of the community alternative energy experience.
Social networks / experience contact
bravonoriega7852@gmail.com