The Las Tecas Motel lies on the roadside of the National Highway. I didn't say "used to lie," because the motel is still open, thanks to the use of biogas as a source of renewable energy. Since 1998 the motel has been using biogas for the stoves used to prepare food for the hundreds of guests who enjoy this hospitable establishment with national currency.

During the time that fat cattle grazed in the surrounding pastures, the hotel consumed 600 liters of petroleum and five tanks of gas monthly. This equals an annual consumption of approximately 6.1 tons of diesel. As one of the workers at the hotel put it, "That was a bundle of cash just being burned away under those pots."

Starting in 1990, the beginning of the special period, using large quantities of petroleum became an impossible dream, and there was nothing left to do but cook with wood.

José Figueredo, the founder of the motel, still recalls the clouds of smoke that enveloped the cooks in a suffocating fog.

"Worst of all," said Figueredo, "was having to use gasoline to look for firewood and on top of that throwing it on the kindling to get the fire going."

Engineer of Hope

Just when "quit" was becoming everyone's favorite word, to the rescue came José Antonio Guardado, architect of biogas in Cuba. He was a misunderstood man at first, who is feared by the petroleum spendthrifts, or the "dragons," as master journalist Roberto Gonzaléz Quesada, calls them.

The Biogas Group of Villa Clara (GVB) and a demolition company began quickly, promptly, and with great attention to quality. The plant was placed very close to the genetic pork company of Ranchuelo, since the raw material is pig manure. The manure is transported through a thick cement pipe connected to what is called the trough, where three biodigestors facilitate the aerobic fermentation, the precursor of the biogas.

Once the product is finished, it travels the 560-meter distance from the plant to the motel, where it is currently fueling three stoves with four burners each, as well as an outside grill. It will soon be connected to the laundry as well.

One of the cooks smilingly complied when asked to light the stove to demonstrate the effectiveness of the flame. "There's no problem getting this thing lit up," he said with cheerful satisfaction.

Keeping the Ball Rolling

Jesús Pazos Torres, the administrator of Las Tecas, stated "they say that this is the only motel in Cuba that uses a biogas system. I think that this initiative should be put into general use. I mean, we're never going to close because of a lack of fuel. The plant can produce much more than we're currently using, and so we're encouraging the idea of offering this service to several dwellings in the neighborhood."

He noted that the undertaking cost a total of US $60,000 plus an equal amount of Cuban pesos, an expediture that has already been recouped by the savings brought to the motel. He confirmed that it would be easier to keep ordering petroleum, "but the problem is that it's not possible for the country to meet the demand."

Clarity in the Villa

There's a strong awareness in Villa Clara about developing this system that uses organic materials, seeing that the biogas production plants work effectively with the manure of any animal or waste products from agro-industrial production.

The engineer Bábaro Arencibia Paret, chief of the technical energy department of Villa Clara, noted that in the last ten years the province has produced more than 600,000 square meters of biogas, representing a savings of an estimated 400 tons of petroleum.

The system has been installed in 20 state centers and an estimated 38 dwellings. Currently, the sugar refinery Heriberto Duquesne is planning a biogas production plant that will have a daily output of 16,000 cubic meters.

Las Tecas, which has 47 rooms and can accommodate 120 guests, could become a model of the benefits of this technology and its sustainable response to the ecological and energy crises -- a place where intelligence catches fire and gives warmth to life and development.

Translated for Global Exchange by Jared Simpson