Piloting a processing plant for animal blood, serum and bile Note: This project has been cancelled, because of bad market prospects.The Danish applicant Sera-Scandia A/S and the local partner Guaimex S.A. will establish a processing plant for plasma powder, serum and bile paste production from blood and bile from slaughterhouses which is normally dumped in the ground water. The project is an environmental solution for the many small abattoirs. A joint venture will be set up in Escuinta, Palin, to collect the blood and bile (which consists for more than 50% of the polluting substances) and process these raw materials into high value products with adequate innovative technologies. During the project period modern equipment will be installed at 16 abattoirs which handle about 75% of all slaughtering volume of Guatemala. The government set new policies for recycling of blood waste of slaughterhouses. However, they cannot enforce and control this, because there are no facilities in place in Guatemala to recycle blood.The end products bile paste and serum will be exported for pharmaceutical industry. The plasma powder will be sold locally and regionally as input for the food industry, for products as sausages.Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)The joint venture will develop a CSR policy which covers social standards, safety, health and environmental issues and policies regarding salaries and secondary benefits. Training on safe storage of goods, safe use of machinery and tools and hygiene are given to direct employees and at the abattoirs. Work clothing and shoes are provided, as well as working breaks, vacations, health insurance and good sanitary facilities. Biannually, representatives of the staff will have the possibility to negotiate on salaries and working conditions with the joint venture director.Policies regarding waste water, solid waste, air and noise will be formulated. The company will also obtain certificates as HACCP, GMP and food safety. The ministry of Health will regularly check the company’s performance.Impact•	Employment and working conditionsThe project will create 59 full-time positions of which 23 (fifteen basic-level and 8 high-/medium-level) are contracted directly for the factory and 36 are subcontracted as basic-level collectors at the abattoirs. In the spin-off phase 51 basic-level people will be working in collection and 29 (twenty basic-level and 9 high-/medium-level) at the factory.The employees will at least earn 139% of the minimum loan. On top of that good working conditions are offered, health insurance, maternity leave for women, working clothes, training and transport.•	Innovation / Transfer of knowledgeThe knowledge with regards to the processing of blood and bile is new to Guatemala. Especially for the abattoirs, new hygiene knowledge will be important to improve their performance. In the factory the operating procedures will be new and also very specific for each product.•	Chain effectsThe joint venture will work directly with small and medium sized abattoirs, where serum, blood and bile are collected. The meat consumers will benefit as the new stunning and bleeding techniques will improve the meat quality and shelf life. The small abattoirs will get important benefits from the project, as the project will solve an environmental problem and a potential risk for closing down their firm due to the new law concerning handling, treatment and disposal of organic waste. The will also earn a fee with providing the joint venture with raw materials.•	EnvironmentThe environmental impact is very obvious. Almost all waste water from abattoirs is dumped into rivers and lakes causing contamination of drinking water. The waste water contains chemicals and carbon dioxide due to the blood content. The anaerobic process of decomposing the proteins from blood and bile generates large amounts of methane. The joint venture project will decrease emission of methane.•	Position of womenThe impact on the position of women will be neutral. It is the aim to get an equal distribution of men and women in the company. To set up a joint venture for the production of 200,000 kg plasma powder, 12,000 liter serum and 18,000 kg bile paste annually for the pharmaceutical and food industry.