Remembering Cuba

Susan Zacharakis-Jutz, Solon

One of the strongest impressions from my experience in Cuba that remains with me as I struggle to keep up with my daily chores here on the farm is the way in which the Cuban people and their institutions and governmental agencies have pulled themselves through the crisis that occurred due to the collapse of the Soviet Union. Using very limited resources they are working to develop a sustainable and viable system of localized agricultural production.

We visited farms right in the city of Havana using raised beds to grow vegetables in a very intensive system of year round production. Most of the vegetables raised in this urban agriculture were sold directly into the community from farm stands located right on their farms. We also visited more diversified farms in the “greenbelt” and surrounding area of Havana. They were involved in dairying and/or meat production as well as raising vegetable and fruit crops for distribution via the government system and for sales into their own neighborhoods and markets in Havana.