Martin Stenflo
eMail: martin at boulderbiodiesel.com
Phone: 720-480-0064
Chat: (MSN) mstenflo@hotmail.com, (AIM, iChat) stenflo@mac.com
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Friendster: Martin Stenflo
Vehicles: 1983 Mercedes 240D
Martin has been making and using biodiesel in his Mercedes Benz since the summer of 2002. He has built biodiesel processors with CU Biodiesel, Boulder Biodiesel, Mike Kalil, and Gaviotas. He built the first biodiesel processor with other members from Boulder Biodiesel using a chopped up 55 gallon drum, the motor from a washing machine, a salvaged stand with wheels, and some piping and valves, all for the price of about $35. The processor was set on rinse and spin and produced about 25 gallons at a time.
We
have come a long way since these days. Martin teamed up with CU
Biodiesel and helped build a processor with Andrew Azman, which
recycled all of the university's fryer grease into fuel, which was used
to power a bus with 100% biodiesel. Recently Martin travelled to Colombia with John and
other members from CU Biodiesel,
to build a biodiesel production plant for
el centro las Gaviotas.
Within the three week period in Colombia,
we built the plant capable of producing 350,000 gallons of biodiesel
per year, produced 3,000 gallons of biodiesel from palm oil and 300 gallons
from waste oil, made biodiesel from animal fat, converted a tractor to
run on Straight
Vegetable Oil (SVO), and conducted many experiments oin
the lab using ethanol, methanol, and various purification, wash, and
distillation techniques.
On May 3rd, 2004, I returned from this three-week biodiesel adventure in South America and it changed my life. It changed the way I think, and my perceptions of hope and the potential for future generations to build a world of beauty and prosperity. I returned from Bogota, Colombia, with five other Boulder residents, after building the first biodiesel plant in South America, and the first high altitude tropical plant in the world. But the magic of ingenuity and inspiration, the heart and soul of our journey, was our privilege and the opportunity to work closely (12 hours a day, including weekends) with the ultimate model of sustainability - Gaviotas - and with founding father, el gran jefe , Paolo Lugari.
Gaviotas was founded over 30 years ago in the remote savannahs of eastern
Colombia - the llanos. Even though it is only a 400 mile stretch of flat
land, it can take 15 hours on a good day, and two weeks during the rainy
season to travel through the muddy roads. There you will find a village
of 200 people living and working together to create and invent a new
world that values the ecology and sustains mind, body, and soul. They
have planted millions of trees, thus regenerating an indigenous rainforest.
They farm organically and use wind and solar power. Every family enjoys
free housing, community meals, and schooling. There are no weapons, no police,
no jail. There is no mayor.
The
political situation in Colombia prevented us from visiting this village,
but the office in Bogota provided a micro-cosmological view into the
life of this egalitarian and inventive community. We had everything at
our disposal that we needed to build a proper chemical plant. All the
equipment was custom manufactured at the site. We had welders, electricians,
mechanics, and a whole machine shop at our disposal. After three weeks
of hard work, we built a processor capable of producing 400,000 gallons
per year, produced 3,000 gallons of cherry-red Palm Oil biodiesel, and
converted a tractor to run on Straight Palm Oil.
Gaviotas is now powering their generator on 100% biodiesel and have officially
ended their dependence on petroleum and other fossil fuel products, by
generating their fuel and electricity from biological sources.
This is just the beginning of the biodiesel movement in South America and the rest of the majority world. Paolo Lugari wants to spawn a social revolution by empowering thousands of farmers with these simple, yet efficient processing plants. Next year, they will plant 100 hectares of Palm trees, not as a monoculture, but ecologically diverse, with many different forest products. With the oils, they will produce biodiesel and edible oils, as well as lubricants, soaps, and other products. With the leftover biomass, they will generate electricity, steam, and ethanol. And in the future, they will develop hydrogen gas from the electrolysis of water molecules. Gaviotas provides us with a glimpse of what is possible if we allow our creative energies not to be inhibited by conventionality. If we wish to survive and preserve the ecological diversity on this planet, we need to change the world and the way we live and think, for this we need to be inventive - and make our dreams a reality.
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