Country: Bolivia
Organization: Talleres Urquieta
2) Sector of activity: Technology
3) Description of your products or services: there is a old Russian proverb that says “very often, the best new inventions turn out to be the most forgotten of the past” and this can be exemplified in re-using old technical solutions and applying them where necessary because even though the technology and the materials used are not new, the way in which they were applied is innovative. Our organization provides solutions to clients from poor rural communities. Our basic equipment is able to get energy from running water. Natural, technical and economic resources permitting, the energy can be directed towards: pumping water for irrigation and/or for treatment to make drinking water, getting enough electric energy to power a rural radio emitter or to run a communal kitchen or any other low-energy undertaking. The results are comparable with other equipment that carries out the same tasks, however others cannot compete in terms of operation economy. In fact, our equipment requires no fossil fuel to function, only the kinetic energy produced by running water that is then collected with a set of paddles that can then action a design pump and other special machines to expel water. The nostalgic postcards depicting one of those old boats on the Mississippi are the best example of technology using paddles. A twice yearly harvest would mean an increase in rational usage of the land for our future clients and therefore an increase in income. It is important to point out that the neighbouring fields will be watered naturally during the rainy period while the pumped water will collect in a reservoir. At the end of the rainy period, the collected water can be used to carry on feeding the plants, meanwhile the equipment will continue the pumping which drives the water 24 hours a day, every day. Although the equipment can be installed on pontoons (flat bottomed vessels), but due to costs it is better to do so on plastic drums that contained fat and mineral oils. Our prototype on show is built on such recycled containers.
4) Description of the operational model: the equipment is entirely built by the company and is delivered in full working order to the chosen technical, geographical and commercial site. Before designing the equipment, an viability study of the client is carried out and the possible location and any additional work that may be required. Civil works are quantified if necessary and recently we have started designing and building according to the requirements, always taking into account the limitations imposed by nature. Our clients are eligible when they have fulfilled all our conditions; we put the emphasis on the critical dependency situation that our clients have in respect to conventional technologies that require petroleum derived fuelss to operate because we understand that they will be rather inclined to substitute them for other more efficient mechanisms with better performance in terms of cost and benefit. Our future farming clients will select their water distribution partners, and by experience we know that for example people who are close and respectful of the time and quantity of water for irrigation will get together. Once installed, the equipment will not become a burden because it will not require personnel to operate it, nor will it require specialized personnel to maintain it. Just one inspection every semester will be necessary and one annual technical servicing. We are currently showing the pilot scheme of the products characteristics, which is why the distribution channels will be established in time with other organizations that are interested in protecting the environment and who wish to use the comparative advantages of their surroundings, who require energy aimed at generating business and above all who wish to become independent from fossil fuels.
5) Description of the financial model: direct relationship with individual clients: no payment, no equipment. For clients who are grouped together in a collective association, the payment is carried out by the individual/collective couple. While there is a possibility of individual payment deferment, the pressure from peers and from the community to which they belong mean that the default is kept to a minimum. If the equipment is partly financed by an institution, there are good chances of recovery in a relatively short period of time because normally the clients must contribute with work to acquire the equipment. This contribution has then becomes an additional asset for those with low incomes who are not in a position to lose out under any circumstances. As this equipment is a capital asset that works with energy from river water, without depending on fossil fuels, it is then becomes a key element in generating income. In addition, it is self-sustaining and economically profitable for whoever benefits from the extracted energy. In low income sectors, the poor will know just what quantity and price of fuel they will be saving which will then help in finishing debt payments
Client fees represent this approximate percentage of operational budget: 20%
6) Key operational partnership: it is useless to dwell on the sad experiences of trying to involve state participation in any project. If one is lucky enough to meet a state employee who possesses the technical conditions and above all the morals, then surely there will be changes in the constant restructuring of personnel that stop any project from coming to fruition. Developing countries are poor because state structure is inexistent or is dominated by powerful groups who avoid or obstruct individual undertaking that would make fellow citizens less dependent on official control policies. The citizens’ general perception is that those who control the state keep financial resources generated by the country or money that comes from donations to themselves. Powerful groups capitalize on unrest, chaos and anarchy, and then propose modifications to the development policies, even daring to change the economic model, and finally imposing a new government so that nothing will change. That is why we bend over backwards to cooperate with foreign aid agencies and non governmental organizations.
7) Current outreach:
We are at the Start Up stage. We are in the initial start up stage. While it is certain that we are at the start of an adventure, it is also certain that the technology applied has a long track record. We have already mentioned that this project is reviving the use of technologies in harmony with the environment, economically sustainable and favouring biodiversity. Above all, we believe that the independence from petroleum derived fuels makes this project genuinely profitable, non-polluting and ecological and interesting enough to be replicated in various areas of the world. Replicating this technological solution in other areas of the world is feasible considering the particular conditions imposed by nature herself. Apart from farming, our future clients can be individuals or organized groups that can find a number of uses for the generated energy, which although limited is continuous 24 hours every day of the year. All that is required is a nearby river that has water all year round and that does not have logs or branches floating on it that would prevent the paddles from working.
How many clients have benefited from your product/service in total? Over the last year? As we are in the start up phase, we consider that our clients will evaluate all the benefits of a technical equipment that will supply a large portion of their energy consumption requirements before launching into spending their savings. we must clarify that before installing this new technology, the farmers could only hope for one annual harvest. By being able to water all the year round, they will get two annual harvests. We have noticed that the future clients of our organization usually go for durable solutions after comparing costs and benefits. That is why the technical solution that we offer is positioned respectably when it comes to investment in the field of agriculture. Other beneficiaries include all the final consumer in the production chain using environmentally friendly technologies.
What percentage of your clients is below the poverty line ($2 per day)? 60% 60% Most of our clients come from poor rural areas and generally have a subsistence
economy. They cannot create surplus because the conditions in which they develop do not
allow for a harmonious development. The first experiment will be demonstrated close to
the town of El Alto, 150km from the capital La Paz. This economically depressed area is
understood to be the expulsion area for migrants to El Alto and La Paz. The potential
future clients will always be those who did not benefit from an energy distribution
network, in the case of Bolivia, poor farmers without access to electricity form a large
percentage of this client base. On the other hand, during the National Dialogue of 2004
(an event which grouped various social sectors), the demand for irrigation systems and
technologies is more than obvious in rural areas where the majority of low income
families are concentrated
What is the order of magnitude of the potential demand for your products or services? Which
other low-income groups, countries or regions could benefit from it? Try to quantify (number
of clients, market size in currency):
Natural conditions permitting, the applicants will number the thousands spread over various areas of the world in which this low cost technology can be applied. It’s important to state that the replication of our equipment can be carried out anywhere in the world, all that is necessary is the participation of a metalwork workshop to make the operating equipment. In Bolivia, farmers near rivers and streams of the high plateau and in the valleys especially will be able to have access to this technology.
8) Scale-up strategy:
How many low-income individuals do you plan to benefit in three years from now? How are you planning to scale up or replicate your solution? What are the major constraints to scale up?
The equipment is sold on its own, it is just a question of observing the results to see how it is beneficial. In Bolivia, if 500 machines are installed, then around 5000 farmers and their families will benefit from our system. Additionally this would benefit whose who are part of the distribution and marketing chains to the urban centres.
Which specific areas - and why - in your field would benefit most from investment by corporations, foundations, and other investors:
9) The organization: How does the initiative fit with your overall organization's strategic goals and priorities? How did the initiative start?
Many years ago in the Chapare region, one of the team had seen in his childhood the inadequate distribution of services that should have covered the state and served all the citizens. What happened is that the state company charged with the generating and transport of electrical energy, installed high tension towers in the fields of the farmers and refused to install transformers to reduce the tension from 20.000 volts to 220 and 110 volts. The argument that they gave was that the farmers could use the electric energy for others tasks beyond cooking and lighting. In actual fact the Chapare region is an area that produces coca leaves and cocaine where the producers hide in rough areas of the Amazon, leaving on their path human poverty and degradation of the environment due to toxic substances. This area has been forgotten by governmental programs that were destined to provide basic services. We believe that this area would benefit from the technological benefits that we offer.
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10) On the mosaic diagram, which of these factors is the primary focus of your work?
- Factor: Limited purchasing power of individual clients
- Principle: Leverage the power of communities as both consumers and producers
Contact Information:
Name: Rodolfo Lovo
Organization: Talleres Urquieta
Mailing address: Casilla de correo # 1229 La Paz Bolivia
Country: Bolivia
Email: rodlovo@yahoo.com
Tel: 2224310
Organization's legal status: small business
Number of Employees: 9
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