Cungapiti Turns Waste into Liquid Gold
- Crea Tu Espacio
- Aug 3
- 4 min read
The Biolácteos El Cañarejo project transforms whey into biofertilizer and is reshaping the future of a Cañari indigenous community in the highlands of Ecuador.
At 3,100 meters above sea level, in the indigenous community of Cungapiti, Honorato Vásquez parish, Cañar province, whey used to be a problem. It was dumped on roads and into streams, polluting water sources and reeking of neglect. Thirty Cañari families, who had been raising cattle and making artisanal cheese under the EL CAÑAREJO brand for generations, looked at it without knowing quite what to do with it.
That is, until the BIOLÁCTEOS EL CAÑAREJO Project arrived, implemented by the CREA TU ESPACIO Foundation with funding from the Canadian Embassy’s Canada Fund for Local Initiatives, and everything changed.
Between September 2025 and February 2026, in just five months of work, this initiative demonstrated that the circular economy is not a concept reserved for large industries. It is also a viable practice in the Andean highlands, using local resources, community labor, and a vision that transforms waste into nourishment.
The core of the project was the establishment of an organic fertilizer biofactory on community-owned land. Five fermentation tanks, each with a capacity of 1,000 liters, were installed, along with all the necessary infrastructure to produce lactic biol, a biofertilizer made from pure whey. The formula was an innovation in itself: instead of using whey as a minor inoculant, the community made it the main ingredient. The result was a highly concentrated, low-cost biofertilizer: just $0.27 per liter produced, compared to $2.50 for commercial biofertilizer. In the first production cycle, more than 4,000 liters were produced, exceeding the initial target by 33%.
The three components of the El Cañarejo biofertilizer are: NutriSuelo (enriches the soil and stimulates root development), BioPotencia (a high-intensity stimulant for transplants), and EcoFoliar (foliar application: foliage, growth, and resistance).
The three byproducts were tested on a 219-square-meter experimental farm with nine crops: potatoes, fava beans, cabbage, lettuce, Swiss chard, scallions, and beets. Positive vegetative responses were observed in all of them, with no damage to the plants.
But the project wasn’t limited to producing biofertilizer. It also trained people. Over the course of six in-person workshops, 27 community members—17 women and 10 men—learned how to make biol, control the fermentation process, and develop their own community-based formula. The final evaluations were resounding: 92% scored 19 or 20 out of 20, starting from virtually no prior knowledge. This data shatters the prejudice that rural Andean communities are not prepared for technical challenges. They are—deeply so.
At the same time, a business management module equipped 17 participants with specific tools: the Business Model Canvas, cost analysis, basic accounting concepts, and a business plan incorporating the 4Ps strategy. For the first time, the association collectively set the retail prices for biol, with differentiated and solidarity-based pricing for community members. This technical decision is, at its core, an act of community economic sovereignty.
The identity of the EL CAÑAREJO brand was also strengthened. Eleven communication pieces were produced, all 100 percent compliant with the brand usage manual: regional banners, micro-perforated posters, flyers, and its own website, www.elcanarejo.com. This digital presence now allows this remote community, located at an altitude of 3,100 meters, to be discovered, recognized, and chosen by customers who have never set foot in Cungapiti.
At the conclusion of the project, overall results achievement reached 92%, with a comprehensive impact score of 4.2 out of 5.0—rated as VERY GOOD for a six-month intervention. The certification dossier for AGROCALIDAD was prepared and submitted to the board so that the commercial licensing process can continue independently. “We now have a better understanding of how our business works and can make decisions with greater confidence for the good of the entire community”—Gloria Siguencia, Member of the Cungapiti Association · Accounting Module, December 2025.
That sense of certainty, that sense of empowerment: that is what the BIOLÁCTEOS EL CAÑAREJO Project left behind in Cungapiti when Canadian funding came to an end.
Support what the land produces with dignity
Whey no longer pollutes the rivers. It nourishes. And the cheeses, biofertilizers, and dreams of thirty Cañari families from the Ecuadorian highlands now have a website and a well-deserved place in the market. Their products are healthy, nutritious, and come from the highest, coldest, and cleanest land in Ecuador.
To learn about them, order them, and support this powerful story of community transformation, there’s only one way to go. Ecuador awaits you.
Bibliographic references:
Fundación CREA TU ESPACIO. (2026, febrero). Informe Final de Implementación – Proyecto Biolácteos El Cañarejo. Cuenca, Ecuador. Financiado por CFLI/FCIL – Fondo Canadá para Iniciativas Locales.
AGROCALIDAD. (2025). Requisitos para notificación sanitaria de bioinsumos agrícolas orgánicos. Agencia de Regulación y Control Fito y Zoosanitario. Ecuador. www.agrocalidad.gob.ec
FAO. (2023). Biofertilizantes y economía circular en la agricultura familiar andina. Organización de las Naciones Unidas para la Alimentación y la Agricultura. www.fao.org
IICA. (2022). Guía para la producción y uso de bioinsumos en la agricultura latinoamericana. Instituto Interamericano de Cooperación para la Agricultura. www.iica.int
Gobierno de Canadá / CFLI. (2025). Fondo Canadá para Iniciativas Locales – Ecuador. www.international.gc.ca
Asociación de Trabajadores Agrícolas Cungapiti Molobog. (2026). El Cañarejo: quesos y biofertilizantes artesanales de altura. www.elcanarejo.com
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