How Cuba’s Urban Gardens Feed Entire Neighborhoods 

On just 1,280 square meters, a Cuban farm grows 250 species of plants—
100% organic. Hurricane-resistant. Community-powered.

🎬 Part of our short series ahead of Our Agroecology, Our Future. Premieres next week (October 8th) on: https://www.youtube.com/@caribbeanagroecology

TRANSCRIPT

After several years of working in direct contact with a high quantity of chemical products, I was feeling sick.

In 1994, when organopónicos began to develop all over the country, I liked the idea of being in a place where I could put the knowledge I had accumulated through so many years of study to the test.

Organopónico means organic. It’s a way of producing with the minimum use of chemicals.

It’s been almost 28 years since we joined this movement. My partner and I are the administrators, the technicians, we are the ones who prepare the beds, we are the ones who plant.

We had to make a 180-degree turn from traditional chemical farming to natural organic farming.

It was quite a difficult transformation for us. We started to study principles related to producing healthy vegetables, considering all the natural ways, including agroecology. 

Agroecology plays a very important role when it comes to producing food, because you do it in an organic way, in a natural way, where you take into account the act of caring for people, nature and the environment. For us, it has been a great pleasure to work here. 

In this small space of just 1,280 square meters, we have more than 250 species of plants.

Now we have a system that is 100% organic. 90% of the food we consume comes from this small system.

We always have something to offer the community. We also produce approximately 85% of the seeds we plant.

What happens in this system when there’s a hurricane? Well, 20, 25, or 30% of the plants in the system may die, but more than 70% survive. And since we have enough seeds to replenish ourselves, we’re all good. In other words, in less than 48 hours, we recover from a hurricane.

Being eminently agricultural, Cuba should have focused on becoming a powerhouse in this area.

In Cuba, a lot of agroecology is done due to necessity. And agroecology is not about necessity, agroecology is about culture.

Every single problem ceases to be a problem when you turn it into an opportunity.