As part of the international research collaboration with Iberoamericana University, Cowichan Energy Alternatives Society and Vancouver Island University, we had the opportunity to interview and collect testimonials from co-op members on their experiences since joining the co-op. We received an incredible response from Zachary Brown, owner at Alderlea Vineyards. 

We've included Alderlea Vineyard's testimonial below: 

​“I have been using bio-diesel in my 1994 Kubota tractor for almost 2 years now and have not had any issues with the fuel. We have just bought a 2018 B2650 Kubota Tractor and have begun bio-diesel trials with it.
I have previous experience working with bio-diesel in the mining industry from before I arrived in the Cowichan Valley. I heard about the Cowichan Biodiesel Co-op on social media and then saw the pump at Bings Creek when I was dropping off recycling.

I chose to switch my tractor to bio-diesel in order to help reduce pollutants on my farm. The fuel change reduces any chances of petroleum exhaust potentially impacting the flavours of my grapes and  wine and reduces the potential environmental damage to my vineyard if there is a spill while refueling in the field. At my winery both the vines and workers are near the emissions from the tractor so reducing the toxins released from my tractor is a priority.
I used B20 for the first four months. This is due to bio-diesel removing build up in the tractor, if this happens too quickly the fuel filter can clog and cause performance issues for the tractor. To avoid mechanical issues caused by the filter clogging I changed my fuel filter regularly and changed the oil in the tractor more often.  After 4 months I switch to B50 for the winter before switching to B100 last April. The only cost to switch from fossil fuel to biodiesel was the additional fuel filters and oil changes in the first four months.
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I noticed no change in the fuel efficiency of my tractor but, I have found that the tractor runs cooler which allows the driver to stay cooler when they are working in hot weather. I’ve also found that if the driver accidentally hits a bird net the net does not melt immediately from the heat of the engine. This reduces how much I spend on bird nets.
Another reason to consume biodiesel is to support a local fuel source rather than using fuel from the conventional oil& gas sector , which has environmental and social negative aspects." 
- Zachary Brown (Owner, Alderlea Vineyard) 

During May 2017,  the University of Iberoamericana, Vancouver Island University, Cowichan Energy Alternatives Society and the Cowichan Bio-Diesel Co-op collaborated on a research project observing the satisfaction and motivations of bio-diesel users in the Cowichan Valley. The research carried was aimed to find out the opinion of the Cowichan Bio-Diesel Co-op members (both active and non-active) regarding the quality of the bio-diesel provided, the overall operation of the co-op and its contribution to the sustainability of the community. 

Through this research the co-op gained more of an understanding about user's satisfaction, experience and the opportunity areas that will allow the Co-op to improve. 

A longer summary report is provided with regards to the methodology developed by Dr. Lobato, head researcher of the Mexican User Satisfaction of Universidad Iberoamericana.

Highlights of Reports: 

The Cowichan Bio-diesel Co-op team is aware of the necessity to always improve their internal processes in order to offer a sustainable product and quality service, so that its members will continue consuming bio-diesel for two main reasons, founded by the methdology developed within the research:

1. The Co-op is is a sustainable alternative for fuel consumption since there is a commitment to reduce the environmental footprint of Cowichan Valley by: 

• Ethically producing and distributing a sustainable fuel alternative. 
• Providing a community source for recycling local supplies of waste vegetable oil. 
• Providing a strong advocacy for sustainable fuel production and use. ​ ​

2. The Co-op has the commitment with the satisfaction of users and inhabitants  of Cowichan Valley by: 

• Ensuring a stable, high quality and local fuel supply. 
• Working constantly so that The Co-op's distribution and sale services are comfortable and reliable. 
• Stimulating local economic activity by producing and supplying bio-diesel at a reasonable and justifiable price. 
• Sharing information about community-based bio-fuels to the wider community. 

100% of active and non-active users expressed a positive opinion regarding the actions of the Co-op on the production of bio-diesel with cooking oil, and its support to the growth of the local economy and its comments to maintain the health of the inhabitants of our community. 

Three main factors that decrease the satisfaction in users: 

1. The price of bio-diesel 
2. Membership registration and payment process 
3. Location of the pumps and availability  

Ways in which the Cowichan Bio-Diesel Co-op is improving some of these concerns: 

1. Price: We are working to make the price of bio-diesel cheaper for our users compared to the price of bio-diesel cheaper for our users compared to the price of diesel and we will start issuing gift cards in order that they can obtain free diesel. 
2. Registration & Payment: The registration process of new users in our office is no longer available. The co-op decided that this process is more efficient if it is done through our web page, in this way the data is automatically stored in our system, The online payment system was improve to allow multiple fleets under one accounting system so businesses and the co-op can track the CO2e reductions in total in a single fleet and how much your business is using in terms of bio-diesel and all the receipts are e-mailed to members.  
3. Location: Because the cardlock pump at the co-op's Allenby Road location, funds were raised to transition this pump into a newly established Green & Go™ pump, which will facilitate the purchase of bio-diesel by paying directly into the pump with a card payment, thereby removing all pre-payments on the cardlock system.  We are working to launch this pump to members in late November 2018 and to the public Spring 2019.