Ever heard of an eco-casa? Everyone in the campo is now raving about the Eco-Casa’s financial and environmental benefits thanks to Sustainable Bolivia and CECAM volunteer, Tom Creten. Over the course of his two month volunteer placement, Tom worked to develop the concept of the”eco casa.” By integrating solar cookers, wood-efficient stoves, and their newest composting toilet design, Tom and CECAM have created a closed circuit system where all bi-products are utilized in another realm of sustainability within the Eco-Casa. Ash, for example, created by the efficient wood-burning stoves is utilized in the composting toilet to convert human waste to usable compost and later for use in the Eco-Casa’s vegetable garden.
After completion of their first eco-casa in the Cochabamba suburb of ABRA, Tom focused his energies on the promotion of CECAM’s Eco-Casas and to recruit partner organizations and attract new clients. In addition to writing literature and offering workshops, Tom utilized his networks back home in Belgium to raise nearly 800 Euros, enough to outfit 14 Bolivian families with Eco-Casa, complete with solar ovens, wood-efficient stoves, and composting toilets. Confident that the financial and environmental benefits of their products speak for themselves, Tom and CECAM are excited to have 14 new family as ambassadors to lead the charge for sustainable development and change in rural areas of Bolivia.
