Facts at a glance:
Project: Floating Dome Biodigester for La Florida
Community: La Florida, Guatemala
Number of Beneficiaries: 47 families (over. 250)
Start Date: December 2007

This past December, AIDG began building a floating dome biodigester for La Florida,  a worker-owned cooperative of 47 families in Guatemala.  The system will safely process waste from the community's pigs into biogas, a fuel that can be used like propane or natural gas, and fertilizer. Processing animal waste in this way will help the community keep untreated manure out of local water sources and provide them with an alternative to firewood. It also helps trap methane, a greenhouse gas that is 23 times more potent than carbon dioxide.

The floating dome or KVIC biodigester  is more expensive, though sturdier than the polyethylene tube biodigester that we have been installing in Guatemala for the past several years. This prototype will serve as a model for biogas plants we will be building in Haiti in 2008.

 Initial Photos of Floating Dome Biodigester Installation

The dome consists of fiberglass coated sheet metal riveted to a galvanized cast iron frame. It is one meter in diameter.

Background on La Florida

La Florida community grows primarily maize, coffee and plaintains for sale as well as vegetables for personal consumption by the different families. They, like Comunidad Nueva Alianza and several other communities were are partnering with in Guatemala, are still working to pay back a loan used to purchase their farmland. They are very interested in using sustainable technologies for cost-savings and environmental benefits, particularly in association with an eco-tourism program that they are establishing.