Environmental science in service of the poor: The science behind Green Kalinga

Other innovations that are currently being incorporated in GK villages, in addition to those listed last week, are:

3. Energy. GK homes are actively switching from incandescent light bulbs to compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs, improving overall energy efficiency and providing economic savings for each household. The development of renewable sources of energy such as photovoltaics, wind turbines, charcoal briquettes has also been implemented in some GK communities.

4. Greening. One of Green Kalinga’s most exciting programs involves developing food farms in urban communities. Green walls (vertical farms) have been incorporated in several GK communities in Quezon City. The idea has many advantages. Obviously, growing fruits and vegetables (such as tomatoes, okra, eggplant, among others) improves food security, lowers dependence on food imports, and directly helps residents with lowering their food bills. Urban farms can also help address unemployment issues, by providing additional avenues for community productivity. The green walls also have added advantages, such as absorbing air pollutants, increasing carbon cycling, and lowering the local temperature by decreasing the urban heat island effect. An idea that is yet to be implemented is the construction of green roofs – a proven technology in other countries. The idea here is to put green roofs for GK Community Centers, to help with lowering the temperature, and possibly to grow food too. For more rural communities, agro-forestry projects are also in place to combine the need for access to food as well as increasing overall forest cover. Through this initiative, better farming methods are introduced that help the overall soil integrity (through diversified farming and crop rotations) and decrease the risk of soil erosion (through the Sloping Agriculture Land Technology) of the area. Better farming methods provide better economic resilience throughout the year as residents become less dependent on a limited harvest in a year to meet their needs. The GK model is unique in that it allows the poorest of the poor, through appropriate technologies, to participate in the global challenge of mitigation and adaptation to climate change.

Green Kalinga is open to other innovations that can be integrated into GK villages. At the GK Enchanted Farm in Bulacan, several experimental technology combinations are being tested. One idea is to use solar panels to provide power for UV disinfection or even reverse osmosis treatment of rainwater to convert it to drinking water. The concept is called “solar rain,” and a pilot-scale set up has been constructed in Bulacan. Another idea being discussed is coupling a solar panel to a patented windbelt technology (Humdinger LLC). The windbelt technology is based on aeroelastic flutter, a non-turbine approach for extracting energy from a vibrating material. Small-scale units costing less than $2 can be partnered with solar panels, and packaged into portable disaster kits. A more conventional idea is to power community centers with an array of solar panels – this is an ongoing project at the GK Enchanted Farm. 

New ideas are always being explored, such as biodiesel production from used cooking oil, and constructed wetlands integrated with fishponds. Some of these may ultimately prove to be infeasible for economic or technical reasons. For example, biodiesel production from used cooking oil will require costly pre-cleaning facilities. However, Green Kalinga is open to collaborations with interested parties who would like to test their technologies and ideas at GK sites such as the GK Enchanted Farm in Bulacan. The idea is to offer a venue for field-testing innovations at a real site under real conditions. The hope is that many of these technologies will benefit both GK residents and the partners, while creating Filipino innovations that are ready to market locally and even internationally.

While third parties and their environmental innovations are welcome, the technologies to be piloted should be scalable and replicable considering the GK goal of reaching five million families. The users and managers of these technologies come from the bottom of the economic pyramid, so technologies should be easy to manage and maintain financially and operationally. If successful, these technologies will have tremendous impact and reach, as they are targeted toward the poor, a major sector in any developing country. Do you have ideas that may work in GK villages? If so, please contact us to discuss!

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Francis L. de los Reyes III is an associate professor of Environmental Engineering at North Carolina State University. He conducts research and teaches classes in environmental biotechnology, biological waste treatment, and molecular microbial ecology. He was a Balik-Scientist of the DOST, and is a TED Fellow and a GK volunteer in North Carolina. He is a member of the Philippine-American Academy of Scientists and Engineers. E-mail at [email protected].

Jerick T. Limoanco is the former program head of Green Kalinga, GK Global Headquarters. He has an AB Psychology degree from Ateneo de Manila and is currently completing his Masters degree in Environmental Management from the same university. E-mail at [email protected].