拉哈，玻利维亚，10月13日——在玻利维亚的高原地区，不断上涨的燃料价格正威胁着农民的生计。当地居民埃特森·马查卡建造了一座小型工厂，能够将塑料袋、废旧轮胎和用过的机油转化为拖拉机所需的燃料。
LAJA, Bolivia, Oct 13 - In the Bolivian Altiplano, where rising fuel costs are threatening farmers' livelihoods, local resident Etson Machaca built a small plant that turns plastic bags, old tires and used oil into energy for his tractors.
虽然该工厂规模不大，每天仅能生产80至150升汽油和柴油，但在玻利维亚中间派政府上月取消柴油补贴以平衡财政收支之后，这一举措为马查卡节省了大量开支。
Though the operation is small, producing only between 80 and 150 liters of gasoline and diesel a day, the savings are a lifesaver for Machaca after Bolivia's centrist government last month ended state diesel subsidies in a bid to shore up public accounts.
该工厂生产燃料的成本为每升7至10玻利维亚诺（约合0.60至0.86美元）。而市场上柴油的价格则高出一倍，约为每升18玻利维亚诺（约合1.54美元）。
The plant produces fuel at a cost of between 7 and 10 bolivianos ($0.60 to $0.86) per liter. Prices for diesel on the open market are about double, at 18 bolivianos ($1.54) per liter.
马查卡说道：“我们将塑料、袋子、轮胎以及用过的机油全部转化为原料，用来在高原地区生产燃料。”他的工厂位于拉哈市郊区的安科卡拉村，距离拉巴斯约35公里。
"We transform plastics, bags, tires, used oil. All of that has become raw material for us to produce fuel in the highlands," said Machaca, whose plant is located in Ancocala, a community in the rural municipality of Laja, about 35 kilometers (22 miles) from La Paz.
该工厂采用热解技术，即在无氧环境下对原料进行高温加热，使其分解成可加工为燃料的物质。
The plant uses a process known as pyrolysis, which heats materials to high temperatures in the absence of oxygen to break them down into products that can be processed into fuel.
马查卡表示，他并不对外出售这种燃料，仅供自己的拖拉机及其他农用机械使用。
Machaca said he does not sell the fuel, but uses it for his tractors and other farm equipment.
如今，高原地区的许多家庭都用拖拉机取代了牲畜来耕作，这使得农场对柴油的需求日益增加。因此节省开支显得尤为重要。
The savings matter as many families in the Altiplano have replaced livestock with tractors to plow their fields more efficiently, making farms reliant on diesel.
马查卡说道：“如果我们今天或明天不播种，高原地区就将颗粒无收。所以柴油对我们而言至关重要。”
"If we don't sow today or tomorrow, there is no production here on the Altiplano. So diesel is very important for us," Machaca said.
多年来，玻利维亚一直依靠天然气出口来获取外汇，但近年来其液态碳氢化合物的产量不断下降，对外国燃料的依赖程度则日益加深。
Bolivia for years relied on natural gas exports to earn foreign currency, but has seen its liquid hydrocarbon output fall and its reliance on foreign purchases grow.
官方数据显示，这个地处南美内陆的国家，其消费的柴油有95%依赖进口，汽油的进口比例也达到了60%。
The landlocked South American nation imports 95% of the diesel and 60% of the gasoline it consumes, according to official data.