The population selected for the transference was the following:

— In the village of Antofagasta de la Sierra: students, parents and teaching staff of the N° 494 Secondary School.

— In the settlement “Los Bajos”: 36 persons with family ties sharing their habitat. They are 6 family groups with different internal structure.

1.2. Transference methodology

■ Firstly, the technicians in charge of the field work were trained to develop their activities in both locations with the purpose of giving them the necessary tools to comply with their duties, taking into account the fact that they receive the users’ comments and thus are able to suggest modifications in order to improve the devices to be transferred.

■ In the village of Antofagasta, data were collected in order to become familiar with the population practices related to the use of wood in the school and family environment so as to generate discussion about the land degradation problems and the possibility of using alternative energy sources. The technology use and maintainance was accomplished in practical ways during training workshops carried out in the school building so that the kitchen staff could work together with the technicians, thus being able to acquire skill in the different procedures.

■ In the village of Antofagasta, diffusion started in the school because the socio-cultural and educational activities of the population are concentrated in this institution. Demonstration workshops were thus conducted with the participation of the school staff during which different meals were cooked. The idea was to train the people in charge of meals preparation and, at the same time, make the students aware of the advantages of solar technology, so that they could later become multiplying diffusion agents.

■ In “Los Bajos” the time to make the technology known was connected with the life objectives of the families and with the production of symbolic representations. The changes generated were monitored so as to help the participants to take ownership of the alternative energy in their daily activities. Simultaneously, quantitative and qualitative

analyses about these daily applications were carried out. The techniques used were: participant observation, case histories, focused interviews, “leam by doing” technique and workshops to develop training related to the use, preservation and cleaning of the solar cooker. In order to obtain a collective overview, the nominal group technique was applied.

■ Later, in the same location, the emphasis was placed on the creation of three micro

enterprises for the elaboration of bakery products, handmade jams, and pickled vegetables using, mainly, the solar technology. These enterprises were proposed taking into account the participants’ previous knowledge so as to change retail sales for sustainable strategies. Monitoring and evaluation indicators were considered to measure the impact of the activities in family lives. The basic strategy for skills and capacities development and knowledge acquisition was the training by means of workshops and working spaces where family members interested in the micro enterprises were given technical support and in situ exercises. The experience was systematized for proper analysis and improvement and for eventual replicability.

The experience in both locations was developed in 18 months.