Collected fire wood is the principal source of energy in most of the Andean villages in the Argentine-Chile-Bolivia triangle. Increasing energy demands of the local population is leading to progressive and accelerated desertification in this semi-arid mountain region. This high plateau called Altiplano or Puna represents a highly vulnerable ecosystem that is essentially endangered by this development. It takes the widespread Tola scrubs several decades to grow to their full height of maybe 1.5m. Rooting them out is common practice. Using Tola as fire-wood thus means burning scarce biomass resources and thus destroying valuable carbon sinks. The thinned out soil offers wind and water a big contact surface for erosion. Further desertification of the Puna could end up in total collapse of the ecosystem.
To present a suitable alternative for cooking, Fundaci n EcoAndina based in Salta in Argentina successfully introduced parabolic solar cookers in the region as one part of the broader Andean Solar Villages concept. The latter, being an integral concept, comprises not only multiple types of thermal energy to meet the demands of the local population, especially heating of buildings and water, but also tries to re-cultivate old Inca terraces by applying PV powered drip irrigation systems.
