Joining forces in Bolivia

PUM contributes to climate change adaptation, for example by providing advice about irrigation technologies. Good example is the implementation of a water installation with solar pump to improve crop yields of a farmer community in the Bolivian Andes. In this successful project PUM experts of the Water and Energy sector jointly shared their knowledge and the Hans Blankert Fund granted an investment.

Asociación Agroecología Y Fe (AAyF) is an organisation supporting local communities in the field of sustainable Andean agriculture. They promote the cultivation of ecological products, without the use of pesticides and fertilisers. Unfortunately, the farmer communities are yearly confronted with major water shortages alternated with heavy rains, which leads to huge agricultural challenges. AAyF asked PUM about advice on water irrigation for the farmers in Miro. Final aim is to improve the living situation of the farming community by creating better conditions leading to higher crop yields.

Long-term relationship with the client

In a first meeting, PUM’s representative in Cochabamba, Hugo Valdivia, country coordinator Wilma Teekens and the general manager of AAyF , German Vargas, decided on a long-term plan. The approach started with remote advice about the technology, followed by fundraising for the solar pump also through online advice, and finally the implementation of the installation through advice on location.

Water and Energy experts

Two PUM experts from different sectors, Water and Energy, were asked to jointly support this client. They started with remote advice to analyse the problem and find an innovative solution, combining their expertise. Harrie van Rosmalen, expert in Water and Waste Water, explains: “In Bolivia’s high steep mountains, farmers face nearly 10 months of drought a year. Under these challenging circumstances, agriculture is only possible with the help of water supply systems, consisting of water basins which are filled by hoses or pipes. This infrastructure brings water from higher infiltration areas or lower rivers to the farmland. But the system is very vulnerable and often damaged. Especially during those weeks of the year when the rivers swell to masses of swirling water.” Jan Peters, Energy expert, continues: “This situation causes a lot of frustration among the farmers. Our proposal was to make the water of the sandy and rocky bottom of the ‘dry’ river accessible via a well construction. With the purchase of a solar pump, that water could then be pumped to reservoirs placed 20 to 40 meters higher. At the same time, walls need to be built to protect the fields from the river floods.”

Hans Blankert Fund

On behalf of the client, the experts submitted a request for a grant with PUM’s Hans Blankert Fund (HBF). HBF assists PUM clients financially to help them grow, innovate and improve their sustainability. The client must always finance part of the investment, namely 50%, and the donation should be used to purchase machines, equipment or tools. In this case, the grant was awarded to purchase the solar pump. AAyF selected a local provider, which delivered and installed the quality equipment to their satisfaction. For the overall project, other organisations were also financially involved, including Wilde Ganzen, Samay and the local municipality of Tacopaya.

Visit on location

A year later, both experts visited the community in Miro. The installation was already partly in use and they joined the official inauguration. They were impressed by the enthusiasm of the community and agreed with the mayor who pointed out the impact of this pilot project. Various aspects in the areas of agroecology, water circularity, and renewable energy are significantly improved. Harrie highlights another unexpected positive result of the installation: “The quality of the pumped water is excellent. It is surprisingly clear and does not contain sediment nor sand. This can significantly extend the life of the pump. In addition, it means that this naturally filtered water could be used for human consumption.”

More solar pumping systems in the future

The physical presence of the PUM experts was a real added value and consisted of various activities together with the local technicians. They thoroughly checked the installation, giving further attention to several technical issues. They gave advice on further improvements in the field of solar energy, and they discussed the management and maintenance of the installation.

PUM experts Harrie and Jan investigated the possibilities to scale up this demonstration project in neighbouring communities. The innovative solar pumping system will probably be rolled out in more agricultural areas, creating even more impact and improving the lives of more farmers in surrounding communities. They are now focusing on the installation of 50 solar pumps in five years.