Mercedes Echarte, Researcher 

https://www.conicet.gov.ar/new_scp/mail.php?id=24198&detalle=yes&esprimera=1

Mercedes Echarte, Researcher at the National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET) and the National Institute of Agricultural Technology (INTA), Professor at the School of Agricultural Sciences (National University of Mar del Plata) and Director of the Biomass and Bioenergy Laboratory of the Balcarce Integrated Unit (INTA-FCA, UNMdP).

Mercedes Echarte is a researcher at INTA and CONICET, who works in Balcarce, province of Buenos Aires, and specializes in issues related to the role of agriculture and livestock in the production of renewable energies. In this connection with this, she had been asking herself a crucial question: Who benefits from science? She was thinking about “…the development of research at the service of the community, seeking particularly a sociotechnical transformation of people and of the relationship between people and devices.” With this concern in mind, she came across an open call that caught her attention: a German Institute was offering to fund the installation of biodigesters, as long as they were used to solve a specific environmental problem and, in turn, promoted community organization processes to ensure their sustainability. There, she saw an opportunity. The urban-rural fringe of the towns of the province of Buenos Aires is made up of small communities where there are facilities for the production of poultry, pigs, feedlots, and dairy, taking advantage of the public utilities and labor of the area. Although the growth and development of these activities are essential for local economies, they produce a large amount of livestock waste that causes pollution; waste that could be used to generate biogas, a fuel naturally produced in the biodegradation process of organic matter.  With great expectation, Mercedes approached the municipality of Balcarce to talk about the call. In that meeting, working in Los Pinos became a possibility. This community is made up of 350 inhabitants and a set of scattered houses mixing, within the urban fabric, with small plots for animal husbandry (pigs and poultry, mainly) that, in some cases, represent inhabitants’ main means of livelihood. Residents of Los Pinos had been reporting different problems linked to the large amounts of accumulated livestock waste that caused, among other issues, a high presence of flies and strong odors. The situation reached a point where people could not take part in social and community activities as normal. Moreover, residents experienced frequent power outages that reduced access to water and did not have a natural gas network, forcing them to rely on gas cylinders or firewood for cooking, and heating their hom es. Hence, the biodigester represented a response to a comprehensive problem by addressing waste management and providing the community with a renewable energy source to extract water and reduce the chances of outages.  Mercedes formed a group with other researchers from INTA, CONICET, and the National University of Mar del Plata. Together, they called a first meeting with the residents of Los Pinos to tell them about the project and the possible implications for their daily lives. However, no one attended and they had to walk through the town knocking on doors, looking for eager listeners. Thanks to that action, they managed to gather a small group, characterized by shyness and suspicion, which gradually grew.  With the project in motion, the challenge of sustainability needed to be addressed. Then, a group from the School of Economic Sciences of the University of Mar del Plata joined in and traveled to Los Pinos to talk about the different organizational options. Everyone learned a lot during that process. Mercedes shares “…when the people from the School of Economic Sciences spoke, we were the residents of Los Pinos, I mean my group, and the residents of Los Pinos were the real INTA researchers. The roles began to switch.” The exchange of knowledge was so rich that “…a neighbor who always used to come to the meetings [was asked a few questions], and one of the questions was ‘Do you know what biogas is?’ And this neighbor said, ‘Now I do.’ ”  In this context, the idea of forming a cooperative came up and, despite the initial suspicion, it then blossomed. The cooperative aims to manage the gas service, ensure long-term continuity and promote local and sustainable development. Members have joined in over time and thus have consolidated a model of organization and participation that represents an important milestone for the community, which did not have prior associations. Mercedes reflects, saying “…the biodigester, before producing 1 milliliter of biogas, had already brought together many of the neighbors, had reunited and organized them, had changed their perspective in terms of producers, and had brought the producers a little closer together. As a technology, it has a lot of collaterals we didn't expect.”

Prototype system

The amount of biomass available is such that, according to the survey conducted in the community, it could be used to feed a plant ten or fifteen times larger than the one being built. But it is a start: the work in progress is a concrete biodigester with a capacity to store 100 cubic meters.