Bioenergia Andina aims to transform 20,000 tons of urban forest waste into biomass to reduce the risk of fire while producing efficient and sustainable heating methods and products for 4,000 low-income families in the city of Bariloche, Patagonia Andina. By adopting a circular economy approach we transform available forest waste into fuel (reducing deforestation and gas emissions) to be burned in high-performance stoves that participants learn to build on their own.
Bariloche annually generates about 40,000 tons of urban forest waste that represents fire risk, it's wasted or incinerated in the open air. Historically, biomass has been domestically used as an energy resource to cope with weather conditions and cook. As a partial solution, local Municipality annually acquires and distributes native firewood for low-income households, however, it doesn't cover their medium consumption nor considers how to maximise biomass heat capacity.
Bioenergia Andina aims to reduce both deforestation and gas emissions by adopting a circular economy approach to transform available forest waste into fuel, to be burned in high-performance stoves that participants learn to build on their own. We develop new biomass and heating products to facilitate efficient heating that allows participants to access genuine job opportunities for themselves as well as better living conditions.
We aim to supply 4,000 low-income families (some 16,000 people) with biomass energy while we train them and develop new skills and know-how so they can be empowered to create and implement solutions by themselves, putting people at the centre of this transformational process that will benefit the whole community.
