Solution Story: Tanks, tunnels and determination – how rainwater harvesting and greenhouses lift smallholder resilience in the Colombian Andes

This Solution Story describes how rainwater harvesting and greenhouses have been used to enhanced the resilience of smallholder farmers in the Colombian Andes.
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  • May 31, 2022
  • 1 min read
Maria Hilda Moreno // The variety of crops grown in the greenhouses improves the diets as well as the income of local communities.
Maria Hilda Moreno // The variety of crops grown in the greenhouses improves the diets as well as the income of local communities.‍© Zoï Environment Network 2022

Summary

Each morning, María Herlinda Espinel takes a moment to appreciate her mountain home: “I get up and look at the beautiful lake and admire God’s creation”. She lives in Aquitania, a village located on the shores of Lake Tota, in the Colombian Andes, about 200 km northeast of the capital Bogotá.

She is 67 years old and has been farming since she was 14. All those years of experience have allowed her to observe how climate change is shifting the seasons, upsetting rainfall patterns and making it harder to earn a living. “The weather has become very un favourable,” she says.“You don’t know what to expect, because sometimes we are fine and then there are terrible downpours that give you no respite. And sometimes it gets really hot.”

This Solution Story describes howAssociation of Proactive Rural Women of Aquitania (known locally as ASOMUC) and the AICCA Project have worked together to support María and other members of the association.

Read the Solution Story “Tanks, tunnels and determination: How rainwater harvesting and greenhouses lift smallholder resilience in the Colombian Andes” >

Related solution in the Adaptation at Altitude Solutions Portal

This Solution Story describes the impacts of solutions delivered through the ACCIA Project. For more details of these solutions, including how they were designed, funded and implemented, see the solution:

Adaptation to the Impacts of Climate Change on Water Resources in the Andes (AICCA), Colombia

About Solution Stories

Solution Stories aim to bring some of the solutions shared in the Adaptation at Altitude Solutions Portal to life and put stakeholders and beneficiaries at the centre of reflections on the successes of the different solutions. Linked Solution Stories will be highlighted on their respective solutions in the Adaptation at Altitude Solutions Portal.