Coffee is a highly productive agricultural product in the department of Tolima. The wet fermentation process of coffee generates about 80% of the waste, which is highly contaminated with organic matter that pollutes water sources, so anaerobic co-digestion techniques are implemented in coffee wastewater using Taiwan type biodigesters. According to the study of three biodigesters fed with coffee waste and animal manure, the aim is to show their potential application in coffee farms. These biodigesters generated a biogas production with CH4 concentrations between 49.1% ± 4.6 and 58.1% ± 2.4 in volume, in addition to the benefit of the biol used as fertilizer in the crops. The biogas produced can be used for cooking and can save around USD 40.17 in natural gas. Therefore, the biodigester is a potential tool to mitigate the harmful effects of coffee cultivation on the surrounding ecosystem and can project coffee production in a sustainable direction.

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El proyecto de Cafés Especiales de la Universidad de Ibagué, la Universidad del Tolima y la Gobernación del Tolima es un proyecto que ha beneficiado a un grupo de familias cafeteras de la región del Tolima con tecnologías ecológicas para el mejoramiento de sus procesos de poscosecha de café mediante el uso de biodigestores. El propósito de este artículo es mostrar y analizar las experiencias de transferencia tecnológica de los integrantes del proyecto, desde una perspectiva técnica y social, encontrando que las comunidades cafeteras estaban dispuestas a cambiar y a aprender nuevas tecnologías que pudieran aumentar su calidad de vida y el valor agregado de su café.

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