AIDFI Techno Park
The AIDFI Techno Park is an area where different technologies, which AIDFI develops are displayed. Besides this, it has a large learning centre with visual and audio facilities. It can also be rented for trainings and conferences.
History & Social Context
AIDFI or Alternative Indeginous Development Foundation Inc. was founded in the Philippines in the 1990s. Since then it has been developing technologies to aid agricultural production and take care of people’s basic needs such as water and sanitation in a cheap and renewable manner. They believe these technologies are key to solving poverty and hunger problems in rural communities.
The Technopark was set up to allow locals to make use of the knowledge, skills and resources showcased there. These can be optimised for the devlopment of locally designed, locally produced alternative technologies for the agricultural and manufacturing industry.
AIDFI also believes that technologies alone are not a sustainable method of development. They also train development workers, who assist villages in developing self-reliance and managing development projects to ensure sustainability.
Purpose
The park and its technologies are particularly aimed at solving the poverty and hunger problems in rural areas. To achieve this, the technologies are designed to support agricultural production and that help take care of basic needs such as clean water, sanitation and energy. The park promotes awareness of renewable technologies for sustainable and organic farming. It also promotes technologies that can be manufactured using local materials, knowledge and skills in rural areas. The park also provides opportunity for local employment.
Target Segments
The techno park targets schools and other academic institutions, farmers cooperatives and farmers associations, local government units. It is also useful to local scientists and technologies, and any citizens who are interested and concerned.
Technology Exhibits
- Hydraulic Ram pump: This technology converts the energy falling water has due to its velocity into pressure, allowing the water to be pumped upwards. The process does not require any fuel or electricity. It is patented by AIDFI and is their flagship technology. It has won several awards including Al Gore’s Ashden Award, the European Parliament’s Energy Globe Award, and the DoE Philippines Green Award.
- Treadle pump: Also known as the ‘tapak-tapak’ is also a pump for shallow wells, upto 8 metres deep. It delivers good volumes of water. It has different models. The pressurized model can for example deliver water to a tank at a height of 10-15 meters.
- Bush Pump: A rigid, heavy-duty hand pump used for deep wells. It can serve 100 households and go up to 100 metres deep.
- Rope pump: This pump is more suitable for shallow wells. It is very successful in Latin America. It is very cheap and also protects wells from contamination.
- Hydropower: Hydropower is power obtained from moving water, which is converted into electricity. There are several different types of turbines to achieve this. Cross flow, pelton, and propeller hydropower turbines are displayed in the park.
- Biogas: A technology that converts pig waste into electricity, biofertilizer or methane gas used for cooking stoves. AIDFI produces 3, 5 or 10m3 plants. The park exhibits a 10m3 plant, which requires the waste of 10 pigs.
- Windmill: The park displays a VIRYA windmill, which can provide upto 800 watts of electricity. It is ideal for rural households and particularly useful for battery charging.
- Rice Hull Stove: The rice hull stove is a stove fuelled by rice hully. It is very simple and highly economical, especially in areas where rice farms are abundant.
- Essential Oil Distiller: The park displays a steam distiller, that can distill plants such as lemongrass, citronella, vitiver, eucalyptus, ginger, ylang ylang, amongst others. It has a capacity of 100kg. Should businesses show there is demand for their distilled product, AIDFI will fabricate the distiller.
- Rotary Weeder: The weeder works by creating oxygenation of the soil while at the same time burying weeds. It is ideal for weeding of rice farms.
- Grass Chopper: It can be used for cutting grass, sugarcane, leaves, or corn stalks for composting or feed for livestock. It runs on a 3HP electric motor of 5HP engine.
- Ferro Cement Technology: is a cheap and space saving facility used for building small agricultural infrastructures. It is made of mesh wire plastered with a mixture of cement and sand.
- Agricultural Technologies: include systems of rice intensification, vermin-culture, propagation of endemic trees and fruit trees including madre de aqua (20% protein) a good organic food for livestock.
