BIOGAS-FIRED COCOA BEAN DRYER IN SETTLEMENT COMMUNITY
RATIONALE
Project Title:
Biogas-Fired Cocoa Bean Dryer in
Settlement Community
Program Area: Clean Energy
Country: Brazil
Project Length:
October 2003-September 2005
Funding:
U.S. Agency for International
Development under the Energia
Produtiva Program
Contact: Renata Valladares
Telephone: +55 (71) 3273-6100
E-mail: rvalladares@winrock.org.br
Brazil is home to one of the most biodiverse and threatened ecosystems,
the Atlantic Coastal Rainforest, an internationally-recognized hotspot of
environmental importance. As a result of human activity, only 7% of this
forest remains, and despite Brazilian legislation prohibiting it, the
deforestation continues. Cocoa farming is one of the regions principal
economic activities and one of the main culprits, as wood from the native
forest is used for drying cocoa beans. Growing at a rate of 40% per year,
cocoa production is exerting growing pressure on a rainforest already
facing extinction. The large number of landless resettlement communities
located in the region makes matters worse. Once families are resettled on
land, it is common practice to cut down the most valuable trees to sell for
timber, clearing the rest for firewood and to make room for planting low-
value, staple crops such as manioc.
Winrock is applying a strategy that promotes peaceful co-existence
between cocoa producers and the rainforest. With the help of the local
NGO Jupar, a resettlement community had adopted ecologically sound
agriculture practices and had even obtained Organic certification for its
cocoa beans, but it continued to chop down the rainforest for fuel. Winrock
developed an innovative solution that is helping to solve the problem, and
one that is highly replicable for cocoa drying farms throughout the region
(numbering approximately 28,000, of which over 80% are small-scale).
OBJECTIVES
The goal of the project is to substitute wood from the native forest with
biogas for fueling cocoa bean drying at the Cascata rural settlement. The
project also aims to improve organic cocoa cultivation through the use of
biofertilizer manufactured in situ. This community of 40 formerly landless
families, many of whom had spent seven years living along the side of a
highway, now enjoys higher income and a sustainable livelihood, co-
existing with the Atlantic Rainforest.
ACTIVITIES
The two-year project has been implemented at the Cascata settlement
community located in the Atlantic Coastal Rainforest 400 km south of
Salvador. Municipality of Aurelino Leal, state of Bahia, Brazil. Winrock
identified the potential for developing a biodigestion project using animal
manure, designed and installed a system, then trained the community in
installation, operation and maintenance. Several stakeholders have joined
the initiative: Sansuy Plasticos SA, Latin Americas largest flexible PVC
film manufacturer (providing equipment and technical support); the local
NGO, Jupar (community mobilization and information dissemination); and
Brazils Institute for Land Reform, INCRA (replication strategies).
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Project results to date include: 1,500 m3 of biogas produced and 80,000
liters of biofertilizer applied to organic crops. Project impacts: capacity built
within the community to install and operate appropriate technology;
dissemination of low-cost fuel alternative to firewood; strengthening of
ecologically-sound agriculture. Strong Brazil federal government interest.