This project aims to address the challenge of water scarcity in mountainous regions of Colombia by introducing an integrated biogas-water system at a hotel in the region.
The mountainous regions of Colombia, such as La Mesa de los Santos near Bucaramanga, are often very arid. This leads to high demand for clean water, especially for small businesses such as those in the tourist sector. A significant volume of water has to be transported to the region by truck.
This project aims to address this challenge by introducing an integrated biogas-water system at a hotel in the region. The system includes a water heating system and wastewater collection facilities for irrigation purposes, with the resultant biodigester effluents being used as fertiliser. The demonstration project will increase the hotel’s sustainability, reduce its ecological footprint and promote biogas awareness to hotel guests. In addition, a combined outreach programme will raise awareness amongst nearby hotels and the regional business community, as well as the broader public, about the positive environmental and economic potentials of the technology.
The specific objectives of the project are:
- To carry out a detailed baseline and feasibility study to ensure the appropriate fulfilment of the hotel’s needs for water heating, as well as an analysis of wastewater and effluents
- To construct and implement the biodigestion system at the hotel
- To analyse the socio-economic and environmental effects
- To disseminate the activities and lessons learned through information materials and via the RedBioCOL network
Projects with same technology
Powering a village sustainably: generating electricity from waste-based biogas
To facilitate access to electricity in rural communities through community enterprises that generate electricity by using local sources.
Biogas Generation through Biomass Production in a "Smart School" in the Lower Northern Region of Thailand
The aim of this project is to use food and agricultural waste, as well as animal dung, to generate biogas energy for producing/cooking school lunches at seven schools in Thailand.
Projects in same country
Exchange: Community Trainers for Renewable Energy Technology Use in Sustainable Food Production and Water Management
The focus of this exchange activity is a social alliance and collective learning process between NGOs and rural communities from three regions of Colombia (Santander, Córdoba and Antioquia). It is based on the accumulated results achieved previously in a WISIONS supported project and ongoing community work in the field of renewable energy and sustainable livelihood strategies.
Exchange: Community Exchange and Capacity-Building in Energy Alternatives for Food Production
The main objective of this exchange activity was to link the concepts of energy sovereignty and food sovereignty using a two-pronged approach: the provision of hands-on capacity-building in sustainable energy technologies for food production and setting up a participatory dialogue among civil society organisations in Colombia.