Sustainable Development in the Colombian Post-Conflict—The Impact of Renewable Energies in Coffee-Growing Women

Abstract

Coffee is one of the most representative agricultural products in Colombia; several factors related to how it is produced, processed and marketed make it particularly important in post-conflict situations. The cultivation of coffee has acquired a very important role in the post-conflict stage that Colombia is experiencing. The rural areas hit hardest by violence are now seeing how improving agricultural conditions can help promote sustainable development and build peace in their regions. In coffee processing, women play an important role, with between 20% and 30% of coffee farms around the world being female-operated and up to 70% of labor in coffee production being provided by women. Women not only contribute to coffee processing, but they are also responsible for family activities such as cooking, and those activities are often made in wood stoves, thereby increasing their health risk. Against this background, this study presents the design and implementation of a biodigester fed by waste produced at Coffee Production Units (CPUs) located in the rural area of Tolima department in Colombia (an important scene of the armed conflict) in order to produce biogas for domestic cooking activities. Results show that implemented biodigester can produce between 1362 and 1597 kg/day (1.1704 and 1.3604 Nm³/day), which is enough energy for domestic activities for a family of four. Furthermore, it demonstrates benefits in the economic, social and environmental context of CPUs. Additionally, due to the importance of women in coffee production, this paper also evaluates the impact of the implementation of biodigesters in farms, which has shown that biodigester implementation positively impacts the production activities and activities performed by women, thereby increasing their life quality.

1. Introduction

Coffee is one of the most representative agricultural products in Colombia, supporting nearly 540,000 coffee producers in the country and their families; 96% of producers are small-scale (up to 5 hectares), 3% are medium scale (between 5 and 10 hectares) and 1% are large-scale (10+ hectares) [1]. In 2021, Colombia was the largest producer of mild washed Arabica coffee of the world and it recorded a production of 12.6 million 60-kilo bags of green coffee/year (756,000 ton/year) [2]. Despite an increase in coffee production in recent years, there are new challenges that must be considered to ensure subsistence in an increasingly rigorous and competitive market. Factors such as reduction in costs and improvement in coffee quality during growing and processing constitute fundamental pillars of ensuring profitability of the sector, which can be hit by phenomena such as the reduction in quoted international coffee prices [3].

Coffee production and farms activities are a source of waste production that, due to its physical and chemical characteristics, is a source of pollution and represents a widespread problem of environmental impact, as this waste is typically disposed of in water sources without proper treatment [4,5]. However, these organic wastes may be used in various fields such as construction, [6] manufacturing of biodegradable consumer products [7] and biofuels, utilizing biological processes to produce bioethanol, [8,9,10] biohydrogen [11] and biogas. [12,13]. In the post-harvest coffee process, wet and dry methods are used for the production of green coffee as the final commodity. In the project area, the wet method is widespread. This method generates the following wastes: pulp (43%), mucilage (27%) and husk (6%) [14,15]. Incorporation of new alternatives sources of energy allows the transition toward sustainable social and economic progress, reducing emissions stemming from energy production and consumption that depend, for the most part, on fossil fuels such as coal, oil and gas. A small-scale contribution to renewable energy development may have a long-term impact on achieving the country’s energy sustainability.

In Colombia, a total of 22 out of 32 departments have developed coffee production, meaning that more than 25% of the rural population works with this crop [16]. It is important to notice that around 31% of coffee producers are women and 25% of coffee-households are female-headed. Women not only contribute to coffee production; they also are involved in full-time housework and often their work is socially invisible and undervalued. Low coffee waste utilization throughout the processing and the importance to achieve new energy sources for domestic work in woman-led coffee-households have been the main objectives in preliminary studies which implemented a biogas-assisted thermal system (as the basis for an anaerobic biodigester). However, those studies have been focused on measurement for reducing costs and times associated with these operations, [15] leaving out the measurement of social impact of these technologies.

International cooperation projects have been interested in support activities with a gender-based approach; that is the case of international cooperation project Aromas of peace. Women, coffee, and sustainable development in southern Tolima (Aromas de paz. Mujeres, café y desarrollo sostenible en el sur del Tolima), implemented by researchers from the University of Lleida (Spain) and University of Ibagué (Colombia) from 2022 to 2023. This paper is framed within this project showing the impact of the use of agricultural waste utilized for biogas production using biodigesters on coffee-household women, the relevance of this technology and the key role of rural women in Colombia’s sustainable development. Activities for women empowerment contribute to their economic independence [17]. Therefore, empowerment of women involved in coffee production and implementation of new energies directly contributes to achieving various sustainable development goals, such as zero hunger, gender equality, affordable and clean energy or responsible consumption and production.

2. Materials and Methods

The study was conducted in the department of Tolima, located in central-western Colombia, specifically, in rural villages of the municipality of Chaparral, in the south of this region. This department has all the mountain thermal levels, as well as hydrographic networks and volcanic reliefs. Its coffee has been awarded prizes for its attributes and quality [18].

2.1. Biodigesters: Background on the Specialty Coffees of Tolima Project, 2018

2.1.1. Selection of Beneficiaries, 2018

In a preliminary study carried out in 2018 as part of a Specialty Coffees of Tolima project, information was gathered from 551 coffee production units (CPUs) in 13 of the 47 municipalities in Tolima, by taking into account key aspects associated with the proper maintenance and use of the proposed thermal system in short and long terms. The variables prioritized were schooling, number of family unit members, attitude toward change, keeping of animals, infrastructure availability, waste disposal, planted area to farm size ratio, degree of portfolio diversification and economic capacity. Of these, 30 CPUs were selected as beneficiaries for the implementation of the biogas-assisted thermal system [15].

These criteria were evaluated by 14 experts in coffee-related matters (professionals in engineering, agricultural and social sciences) with knowledge and extensive certified experience (>5 years). To compare the criteria, the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) to the third level [19] was used to strengthen decision making, following the methodology proposed by Mendoza et al. [20] and supported by a computer tool that allowed real-time knowledge of weights assigned to each criterion by performing pair-wise comparisons between variables. Convergence among experts was analyzed using the relative interquartile range (RIR) index to ensure a level of acceptability (RIR < 10%) [21].

2.1.2. Characteristics of the Biodigesters and Thermal System, 2018

The biodigesters were built with PVC (polyvinyl chloride) membrane and PP (polypropylene), with a capacity of 4.71 m³, a length of 6 m and a diameter of 1 m. A hydrogen sulfide filter was installed at the biogas outlet for H₂S removal in two stages, using activated carbon in the first stage and iron oxide in the second.

Installation was carried out via agreements on time availability and works to be implemented with the beneficiaries. Initially, the biodigester’s location was analyzed according to information on the requirements for the system to function. Then, beneficiary built the trench where the biodigester, feeding tank and biol outlet tank would be installed, as well as additional works that were considered to facilitate the feeding of the biodigester. Subsequently, the project’s technical team carried out the installation, start-up and the monitoring of the system’s operation. Installation was completed in an eight-hour workday, in which the membrane, tanks, hydrogen sulfide filter and pipe connection were installed. The biodigester was initially loaded with a mix of rumen content and water in a 1:3 ratio, reaching 35% of the biodigester’s capacity.

A second workday took place 15 days after the biodigesters’ installation, during which the biodigesters were filled to 70% capacity with another mix similar to the initial one of rumen content and water. Additionally, gas piping to the kitchen and an assisted thermal system for coffee drying were installed. Subsequently, two more visits were made to monitor the functioning of both the biodigester and thermal system, as well as the use of biogas for coffee drying and domestic use in the kitchen. During the monitoring, a Multitec 540 portable measuring device was used to analyze in situ the concentration of methane (CH₄), hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) and carbon dioxide (CO₂) in biogas. Supplementarily, biogas outlet pressure was measured with a U-tube manometer, and feeding and biol samples were taken for subsequent laboratory analysis. Tests were conducted on biogas use in the kitchen and the coffee dryer, and the entire system’s operation was generally checked to correct problems and highlight benefits in terms of energy quantity and costs as well as safety for beneficiaries.

2.2. Evaluation of the Impacts Associated with the Biodigesters’ Installation, 2022

To document the impact of the installation of the thermal system in rural areas, a new study was conducted in 2022 with coffee growers women from Chaparral, a municipality located in southern Tolima. These women are beneficiaries of the international cooperation project Aromas of peace. Women, coffee and sustainable development in southern Tolima, led by a researcher from the University of Lleida (Spain) and implemented in collaboration with researchers from the University of Ibagué (Colombia). After reviewing the list of 30 CPUs beneficiaries of the project initiated in 2018, non-probability convenience sampling was used to select 11 women who participate and lead CPUs. A survey, completed by phone interview, was designed to collect information. Due to the rurally dispersed location of the selected sample and connectivity limitations in the area, it was only possible to establish communication with 8 women.

The instrument included 32 questions covering the following dimensions: quality of life, women’s role in implementing clean energies, social ownership in the family unit and environmental sustainability, which reflect the indicators proposed by Toboso and Estévez [22]. Technical specifications of the questionnaire are shown in Appendix A.

2.3. Role of Women in the Coffee Sector

Since the 19th century, Colombia’s coffee sector has been a pillar of the economy of the country, as coffee is one of the main agricultural products exported [23]. Coffee production is characterized by being a small-scale and family-run productive activity, with significant participation from women [24].

The department of Tolima is the third-largest coffee producer in Colombia with a market share of 12.8%. According to the latest coffee census, in 2019, there were 103,000 hectares planted with coffee, distributed across 62,100 farms and 51,582 families in 38 of the 47 municipalities of the department [25]. In Tolima, crop is managed in a traditional way according to the culture, uses and customs of the family-run economy [1]. Traditional techniques are used for processing and post-harvest handling, while processes of technological modernization continue to be contingent on support from the National Federation of Coffee Growers and private entities [26].

Southern Tolima is made up of four municipalities, including Chaparral. It is characterized by the production of high-quality organic coffee, even receiving international awards such as the “Cup of Excellence” on over three occasions [27]. Chaparral is the fourth-largest coffee producer municipality in Tolima. Of the 94,557 tons produced in 2017 in Tolima, 6098 were produced in this village [28].

Considering the role of women in coffee farming in Tolima involves recognizing rural sector transformations in Colombia, driven both by the migration dynamics of the armed conflict and by the agricultural specialization in coffee between the 1990s and 2000 [29]. Generally, women’s role in coffee production has traditionally been situated in social and family spheres and it includes their contributions to economy by performing domestic work and raising children who, in most cases, join the workforce [30].

The fact that the household care economy is not quantified within the crop’s economy means that women’s contributions to coffee production are relegated, seemingly, to the private sphere and outside of labor force participation dynamics, even when activities such as preparing food for workers and harvesting coffee are a fundamental part of the productive cycle [31]. Lack of acknowledgment of women’s labor force participation, in turn, means that the work women perform is, in most cases, unpaid, an aspect that negatively affects their quality of life and their possibilities of participating in household and community decision making [32].

After 2010, there was widespread modernization in the Colombian coffee sector, not only in terms of growing methods but also in aspects related to commercialization [33]. This modernization produced two important changes for women in coffee-growing territories: first, greater entry into technical and technological education and, second, an improvement in working conditions [25].

Notably, as a consequence of the armed conflict, many women were widowed and took on leadership of coffee production by occupying traditionally masculine roles [1]. After the signing of the Peace Agreement with the FARC, an increase in women’s participation and leadership was seen in the organizational processes of coffee growers, with the proportion of women even reaching 29% of more than 550,000 producers who carry out this activity [34].

Growing organizational processes around coffee production in southern Tolima highlight the importance of improving agricultural practices, especially considering the requirements of some seals and certifications involved in the product’s commercialization in national and international channels [1]. One of these good practices relates to the proper disposal of coffee pulp, which, in most cases, is left out in the open or dumped into nearby bodies of water, compromising the surrounding biodiversity.

Indeed, coffee pulp has a content of 16.5–18.3% cellulose, 9.5–11.6% hemicellulose, and 17.5–20.5% lignin, which on average represents 30% organic matter that poses limitations to bacteria’s ability to break it down under conditions of anaerobic treatment [35]. As a reference, in 2010, the average production of coffee pulp in Colombia was 2.25 tons/hectare/year. It is estimated that, for every million 60-kilo bags of green coffee beans that are exported, approximately 162,900 tons of fresh pulp are produced that, if not properly treated, can produce pollution equivalent to the same produced by the excreta of a population of more than 800,000 inhabitants in one year [36].

In fact, according to the Mining and Energy Planning Unit), it is estimated that, in 2018, fugitive emissions of methane (CH₄) in Colombia due to improper abandonment of coffee waste were 931 km³/year [37] This state of affairs not only suggests negative impacts for the environment due to the emission of greenhouse gases, but also challenges coffee-growing families in their ways of relating to the land to shape their life project as small-scale farmers. Furthermore, it poses strategic challenges to the country’s public institutions in terms of regulatory frameworks for clean production and clear incentives for integrating renewable technologies in the coffee production cycle [38].

In Tolima, the transformation of coffee waste into biogas through anaerobic biodigesters presents an opportunity for the coffee sector. In general, the Colombian government has promoted the development and use of nonconventional energy sources in order to contribute to a sustainable economy. In this regard, three important regulatory milestones have been identified in the country: Law 1715 of 2014, which aims to regulate the integration of renewable energies [39]; and the National Climate Change Policy and Law 1931 of 2018, which lays out guidelines for managing climate change.

At a departmental level, the Comprehensive Climate Change Plan’s third objective. aimed at strengthening territorial and sectoral resilience to climate change and variability, includes the implementation of family biodigesters in livestock systems in its third strategic line of action. Regarding the coffee sector, this plan prioritizes a strategy of specialty coffee agriculture as a sustainable alternative for adopting good agricultural practices [40].

In March 2020, the Colombian government presented the gender guidelines for the mining and energy sector, which include aspects related to the transition to clean energy. These guidelines provide a framework to promote initiatives with a gender approach from the labor and community dimensions and also propose strategies for women to participate in sector planning and project implementation.

Empowerment of women small-scale farmers is acknowledged to be a fundamental factor in promoting clean energies. Firstly, this is due to the fact that women are those who directly experience the consequences of both the lack of energy and polluting energies, which deteriorate their and their families’ health. One example is the preparation of food on wood stoves, a practice present in 1.6 million Colombian households [41]. Secondly, women’s leadership in the care economy is a factor for strategic conversion to advance in overcoming energy poverty [42].

In this perspective, women’s role in the process of taking social ownership of biodigesters in southern Tolima must be considered. This is based on the learning experiences that lead them to defend their role within the family and the community as agents with the capacity to lead sustainable changes in the energy model that currently prevails in the countryside and that must necessarily be transformed [43]. In the same way, it is necessary to recognize cultural and family life factors that may limit or slow down taking social ownership in energy transition processes.

3. Results

3.1. Biodigesters: Background on the Specialty Coffees of Tolima Project, 2018

3.1.1. Selection of Beneficiaries, 2018

According to the analysis conducted by experts using the analytic hierarchy process, the criteria of attitude toward change and keeping of animals, with values of 22.04% and 20.25%, respectively (Figure 1), represent the aspects with the most weight in the selection model. It reflects an imminent need for potential beneficiaries of the system to have strong willingness and commitment to adopting new tools and technologies, in addition to having farm animals that produce excreta. Animal excreta, together with coffee wastewater from coffee processing (mucilage + water), are introduced into the biodigester for organic material to be broken down through the anaerobic co-digestion process [44].

The criteria of planted area to farm size ratio, schooling and family group were not determining factors within the selection model. Notably, the results obtained are based on the judgment of the professionals and researchers who were directly involved for over a year with the CPUs of the project and who have sufficient experience in local-level processing, with which the defined weights are adjusted to the overall context in which the project is implemented.

Figure 2 shows the 551 CPUs studied and the thermal system beneficiaries (red dots), in addition to the municipalities involved in the project (y-axis). To select them, a decision threshold (solid line) was taken into account. This threshold was established based on the sum of the percentages of the most relevant criteria (attitude toward change and keeping of animals). The producers who achieved the highest score in the study were subsequently analyzed to verify the terms and commitments required for the system’s installation. As shown in Figure 2, in some cases, the producers selected do not align with those who obtained the highest score, as some of the producers with the best scores did not accept responsibility for the system’s installation or, in some cases, there were changes in the initial conditions that had been detailed in the survey, which was conducted a year ago before the selection.

Garfí et al. [45], after installing nearly 750 household digesters in Bolivia, highlighted that the most significant barriers for the successful use of the technology were: (i) lack of social acceptance of biogas technology and (ii) lack of an appropriate management model after implementation. Both factors were related to limited information and training for users. In addition, they suggested that, for biodigester installation in rural areas: (i) complete and clear information about digesters should be given to users, showing weaknesses and failures in addition to benefits; (ii) involvement of local technicians was essential for system follow up; (iii) biogas plant implementation should be integrated with families’ way of life and farming; (iv) existing social structures should be respected; (v) users should pay for their biogas plant and subsidies should be restricted to making the technology accessible to the poorest users, since it has been observed that the higher the subsidies, the higher the failure rate.

The classification process resulted in the selection of 30 CPU beneficiaries, located in 13 municipalities of the department of Tolima that met the established criteria.

3.1.2. Operation of the Biodigesters, 2018

The complete system installed for the 30 CPU beneficiaries can be seen in Figure 3. It consists of a biodigester that collects the waste produced from coffee processing, which is mainly coffee wastewater (water + mucilage), swine and cattle manure from animals living in the CPUs in proportion 3:1 with water. This waste is fed into the biodigester, which produces, on average, 1362 and 1597 kg/day of biogas (1.1704 and 1.3604 Nm³/day) [46]. Biogas is first filtered to remove hydrogen sulfide and then distributed to the assisted thermal system for coffee and for kitchen.

Table 1. Biogas characteristics on selected farms.

Municipality	Farm	Altitude (masl)	CH4 (% Vol.)	CO2 (% Vol.)	H2S (ppm)	Pressure (Pa)
Chaparral	El Mirador	1710	49.1 ± 4.6	43.0 ± 3.9	68.0 ± 6.0	1132.8 ± 199.9
Chaparral	El Desierto	1525	58.1 ± 2.4	27.0 ± 2.8	35.0 ± 1.4	1250.7 ± 185
Planadas	El Tesoro	1500	55.8 ± 2.9	44.2 ± 2.6	53.2 ± 4.3	1050.2 ± 201

presents the location of the farms, environmental conditions and results obtained from three selected biodigesters distributed among the 30 installed. More details are available in Appendix C. Data on concentrations of methane (CH₄), carbon dioxide (CO₂), and hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) were reported in Hernández-Sarabia et al. [15] and they correspond to the measurements taken in the monitoring visits. Data on pressure were also taken during the visits and are appended to the reported data. Biogas produced contains an average of 53.5% CH₄ and has an energy content of 5.33 kWh/m³. This is a renewable energy that can be used in cooking in rural areas for a family of 5 people or can be used as an additional source energy for coffee drying. The biodigester has a hydraulic retention time (HRT) between 30 and 35 days, according to the feeding frequency of the substrate. The substrate is supplied in a ratio of 3:1 of water: mix of organic waste. The average annual temperature in the biodigester installation area is 25 °C at a maximum temperature of 31 °C and a minimum temperature of 17 °C. They are located in a rural mountainous area with altitudes between 1500 and 1700 m.

Microbiological analyses of the bioreactor effluent were not performed as part of the research work. They were left for a later investigation on the evaluation of the performance and operation of the biodigester.

3.2. Evaluation of the Impacts Associated with the Biodigesters’ Installation, 2022

Upon the application of the instrument, it was found that biodigesters continue to operate in 8 of the 11 CPUs surveyed, after 18 months of installation. In this regard, women interviewed perceive an improvement in their quality of life and in their families, due to a reduction in the time spent preparing food on a wood stove, monetary savings, since they do not have to buy gas cylinders, and care for the environment.

According to the data found in the interviews, the average time spent on food preparation tasks decreased by two hours per day since the biodigesters’ installation, which represents women’s increased availability to take on other activities related to farm production, family life and community life. Furthermore, women expressed their satisfaction with the fact that the production of biogas favors take care of the environment, a key aspect when it comes to promoting cleaner and more sustainable coffee production.

All women interviewed consider their role to have been important in maintaining the biodigester, as well as in the learning process of other family members. This is primarily due to the fact that the biogas produced is mostly used for kitchen tasks they continue to be responsible for and, to a lesser extent, the fact that biogas is used for coffee drying. Similarly, women agree that the role they have played in sustained care for the biodigester strengthens their leadership at the family and community level, given that they have the capacity to share the knowledge and experience gained in their process of taking individual ownership with others.

Another important aspect is the interest and willingness of interviewed women to share their experience in using and maintaining the biodigester with other members of their community, as well as to support learning processes that would eventually take place on other farms following the installation of this technology. More details are available in Appendix B.

4. Discussion

4.1. Biodigesters

The reported data on CH₄ and CO₂ concentrations are similar to the data reported by other authors for biodigesters fed with swine manure, but at lower altitudes. This indicates that the co-digestion of swine manure, cattle manure, and honey waters from coffee increased biogas production [47]. The measured pressure of biogas in the bioreactor, temperature and application of the ideal gas law made it possible to determine biogas mass, which reached a production of between 1362 and 1597 kg/day—enough energy to cook food for a four-person family [48].

The H₂S concentration is reported by measurements taken after the gas passes through the removal filter, which shows that the filter is working with approximately 80% removal and translates into a reduction in gas directly released into the environment.

The use of produced biogas in coffee drying, using the assisted thermal system, has interesting potential that should be evaluated. In preliminary calculations, the amount of energy produced by the biodigesters can reduce drying times in the coffee dryers by five to seven days, depending on the existing solar radiation and cloud cover. This represents a substantial improvement in solar drying processes, which have reported times of up to 20 days in the area. Having a homogeneous drying time avoids variability in coffee quality, which can bring important economic benefits to coffee growers. Additionally, the use of biogas for cooking brings economic, environmental and health benefits, especially for women who are responsible for preparing food at CPUs.

Economic benefits are represented by savings on the LPG gas used in kitchens, as a fuel alternative to firewood. On average, LPG consumption was reportedly reduced by approximately 50% in CPUs where a biodigester was installed and the gas produced was used for cooking. This implies an economic benefit due to the cost of LPG gas, which has a price trending upward due to the current economic situation—increased inflation and the devaluation of the Colombian peso against the dollar.

Environmental benefits are evident in reduced deforestation for the use of firewood, which is the main energy source for cooking in rural areas. On average, up to 70% of the firewood previously used is saved [49]. Health benefits for women and children are reflected in less exposure to smoke from wood stoves and, as a result, the respiratory illnesses this entails, as reported in the results of other studies conducted on the subject [50]. However, it should be noted that although positive health outcomes have been demonstrated in reducing air pollution, other adverse health outcomes cannot be underestimated. In this sense, there are some studies that show that the use of waste with potential for pathogens can be also harmful in terms of health. It is true that biodigester cookstoves can reduce household air pollution; however, when human and animal sludges are used, it can lead to children’s diarrhea [51]. In fact, da Silva Lanna et al. [52] have shown that the applicability of decentralized wastewater treatment systems in real-scale using household-based biodigesters promoted reduction of 90, 99, 99.99 and 99.999% of hepatitis A virus, Salmonella sp., Escherichia coli and human adenovirus, respectively, from domestic wastewater.

4.2. Evaluation of the Impacts Associated with the Biodigesters’ Installation, 2022

Brief Analysis of the Social Context in the Area Studied

Latin America and the Caribbean continues to be the second most unequal region in the world [53]. According to latest systematized data, Colombia has around 2.7 million rural producers, around 724,000 of whom reside in dispersed rural areas [54] Colombia is a significantly rural country and at least a quarter of its population has poor access to state resources and services.

We cannot ignore the historical and social context that Colombia has experienced during more than 60 years of internal armed conflict. Since their origins, demands of armed groups have had a social nature, related to the right to land and the implementation of a proper agrarian reform. These struggles, originated in the countryside, began taking on a political sense over time, which is why the existential core of the internal armed conflict is agrarian in nature [55].

In this context, southern Tolima has been an important scene of the internal armed conflict. The birth of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrilla group was geographically situated in this territory. Remote rural areas of southern Tolima, such as Chaparral and its townships, have been characterized by a low or nonexistent presence of public institutions, which have been replaced by the power games of armed actors, with a nearly hegemonic presence of FARC guerrilla [56]. Southern Tolima has witnessed every stage of the armed conflict, from La Violencia in the 1950s to the consolidation of the FARC, the formation of Bloque Tolima and intense confrontations between FARC, Bloque Tolima and Colombian National Army [57]. Due to its strategic location and demographic conditions, southern Tolima has been an area of geostrategic interest throughout the conflict’s entire evolution [58].

To achieve the SDGs, territory has become a fundamental piece, taking into account the vision of a world based on the sustainable development promoted by the 2030 Agenda [59]. The persistence of a small-scale farmer population’s high degree of vulnerability in these rural areas gives rise to precarious living conditions and obstructs development.

In terms of inequality, women face greater difficulties than men in different areas of their lives. This statement proves to be even more sound when focusing on rural women, given that, in Colombia, rurality is associated with poverty and the poorest women face the worst inequalities [53]. Rural women encounter a series of common obstacles related to access to land and the effective enjoyment of their human rights. In addition to inequality in land tenure, women experience reduced access to machinery and technical assistance. Domestic care work, traditionally performed by rural women in Colombia, is rendered socially, politically, and economically invisible, posing one of the most severe obstacles to women’s full enjoyment of human rights.

Rural women’s contribution to small-scale food production, biodiversity preservation, and the recovery of agroecological practices shows that their role is predominant for guaranteeing food and nutritional sovereignty and security. After the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, women have endured different situations, such as the exacerbation of the care crisis, economic precarity and increase in poverty, lack of access to essential goods and services, limited mobility, and, unfortunately, an increase in gender-based violence.

5. Conclusions

Coffee is one of the most representative agricultural products in Colombia. Its production involves multiple actors and factors that are sometimes rendered invisible, as is the case of women’s contribution to everyday tasks in the countryside and the production of waste throughout the course of coffee processing.

The installation of biodigesters revealed a series of benefits in social, economic, and environmental contexts, which translate into a favorable improvement in the quality of life of the CPUs led by women, who took ownership of caring for and maintaining the biodigester as part of their daily activities.

Among the most relevant criteria for success in biogas production were the attitude of change on the part of the farmers and the keeping of animals on the farm. In the social context, it was found that the installation of the biodigester improved the quality of life of the women by reducing their work in the kitchen by an average of 2 h. A positive perception was also identified in terms of the health of women and children due to the reduction in exposure to smoke from wood stoves, reducing the respiratory diseases that this entails. The economic benefits of biogas productions through the installed biodigesters were evidenced in the reduction of LPG consumption by approximately 50%. This gas is commonly used as an alternative energy source to firewood in rural areas as a cooking fuel, but it has a tendency to increase its price due to the current economic situation with the increase in inflation and the devaluation of the Colombian peso against the dollar.

In environmental aspects, on the one hand, it is evident that the waste generated on the farms as a result of daily agricultural and livestock activities is valorized by being converted into raw material for the biodigester, which reduces the propagation of odors and plagues that are undesirable for the crop. On the other hand, the reduction in deforestation and atmospheric emissions due to the primary need for food supply in the rural sector represents an important contribution to the environment.

Clean energies have a female face to the extent that women are not only direct beneficiaries of the implementation of energy solutions, but they also contribute to the sustainability of these solutions through their actions to maintain and take social appropriation of them in the family and community context.

The public value of clean energy as a resource that further develops the self-management capacities of women and their families is highlighted to the extent that energy is recognized as a common good to be cared for and maintained cooperatively and not as a product sold by private companies.

The empowerment of women coffee growers is a key element for this post-conflict stage in Colombia. Likewise, sustainable development in rural areas such as southern Tolima is a tool for the non-repetition of violence in Colombia. Cooperating in the strengthening of this sector of society is crucial to achieve progress in this stage of peacebuilding.

It is essential to include the gender perspective when evaluating the inequality between men and women in access to clean energy. It is also necessary to design indicators that make it possible to establish relationships between gender and the processes of social appropriation of these technologies.

6. Directions for Further Research

Part of the objective of this work was to articulate academic research with the needs in rural communities through the implementation of biodigesters. Although revealing results were achieved, it is suggested to continue evaluating the performance of biodigesters over time to determine the maintenance and operating lifetime of biodigesters.

Despite the fact that there are proposals in academic research for technological innovation in agricultural work, it is suggested that these technologies should be developed according to the real needs of rural communities. In this way, the implementation of sensors or applications that indicate the operation of biodigesters in real time could be considered.

Moreover, for future research related to this topic of study, it is essential to include a gender perspective when evaluating the inequality between men and women in access to clean energy. It is also necessary to design indicators to establish relationships between gender and processes of social appropriation of these technologies.