In our last class, we spent more time trying to make our estimations accurate. We are trying to estimate how the Sabana Grande women can make the construction of a new biodigestor profitable. As such, our main assumptions are 1) how much manure the women have available, 2) how much gas the women need/will make with their digestor, 3) how much this will cost and how much money this will earn (and all of the calculations within this), and 4) everything else that goes into the above calculations. With different assumptions, we get quite different values, and assumptions vary across websites (there is no one site that combines everything we need to know.) Thus, the first part of our class time was spent looking at the papers/websites together to determine how their information applied to our situation.
In the last twenty minutes of class, we were able to talk to Jorje, the man who maintains the existing biodigestor in Sabana Grande, to make our assumptions actual data! We asked him many questions, and luckily he spoke very slowly and clearly. Saebe did most of the talking, and we recoded the conversation and took notes (since all of us speak Spanish). We were even able to talk to a community member who happened to be near the phone!
Here is the information from our conversation:
Phone Call with Jorje
4/8/12
Saebe, Gretty, Monica
Where is the Cocina Solar?
Between Sabana grande y santa
domingo
Tell me about the Cocina Solar’s biodigestor
It’s only for the restaurant. 8 m^3
large. Needs 65 kg manure every day. Produces 1 m^3 gas daily. Feeds 9-10
people per meal. We have 50 clients at the restaurant per day.
Can we share the Cocina Solar’s biogestor?
No, it’s too far away (poco
arriba).
Could the community share a biodigestor of Cocina Solar’s
size?
Yes, with good organization and
maintenance
How many cows in the community?
Majority of the families have 4-6
cows.
How many people in the community use propane?
Few stoves that are propane....
most cook with wood. Would other people in the community like to use gas? Claro
que si. BUT they would need to buy new
stoves, which are 30-40 dollars.
How many hours do people cook a day?
The majority cook with wood for 5-8
hours. Estufos singular. Madores?
How much does biodigestor cost?
Muy caro. Dolares? He doesn’t know. The restaurant is fine though
because it makes enough to keep it profitable.
How much does propane gas cost?
Propane gas (by itself, without
cost of trip. )... 35-30 dolares. Sola el gas. 10-100 lbs. (For what he’s
talking about-- check this site: http://gertodesing.blogspot.com/2011/05/gas-propano-y-butano-son-dos.html)
How much would they sell dung for?
Depending on what people need....
actually, people already give it for free. Transport? People use carretas de metal, and on foot.
Would someone maintain the biodigestor?
Yes. The woman we talked to said
she would. The biodigestor should be the center of the community though.
Are there people who can build a new biodigestor?
Yes.
Different model? Like their model? Same model?
They really
like the same model.
Does the gas smell?
The first week it smelled, but then
it didn’t after that.
Would people want to buy biogas instead of propane gas?
Yes, MUCH more convenient because
it’s in the community.
------------
After our phone call with Jorje, we updated our assumptions in our excel file. The conclusions were drew were interesting.
First, people have much more manure available than we expected. Also, they report much higher yields of gas from their manure than the values estimated on the internet.
Second, gas is very unprofitable when compared to traditional wood. However, it is a good alternative for this community as compared to propane stoves. However, few members in the community use propane gas, so this biodigestor will be aimed at a pretty small population.
We are still not sure of the best business plan for the biodigestor. We were originally envisioning a community biodigestor, but based on the values emerging from our estimations, it might be more useful to have it belong and used by a specific family. However, the initial cost is steep enough that this might not be the best option.
Here is a copy of our excel document:
In today's class, we want to determine the best business plan for this community, which is going to be one of the breakpoints in making this biodigestor plan happen.
Monica
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