Farming Cuba: Urban Agriculture From the Ground Up

by Carey Clouse

Following the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s, Cuba found itself solely responsible for feeding a nation that had grown dependent on imports and trade subsidies. With fuel, fertilizers, and pesticides disappearing overnight, citizens began growing their own organic produce anywhere they could find space— on rooftops, balconies, vacant lots, and even school playgrounds. By 1998 there were more than 8,000 urban farms in Havana producing nearly half of the country's vegetables. What began as a grassroots initiative had, in less than a decade, grown into the largest sustainable agriculture initiative ever undertaken, making Cuba the world leader in urban farming. Featuring a wealth of rarely seen material and intimate portraits of the environment, Farming Cuba details the innovative design strategies and explores the social, political, and environmental factors that helped shape this pioneering urban farming program.

Genres: Agriculture

192 pages, Paperback

First published April 8, 2014

Reviews

[Kate Singh · Rating 2 out of 5]

This person was trying to be too intellectual and cover the politics of urban farming in Cuba. I wanted to get in the gardens and on the streets with the people and live that time and learn how to farm in when you really have to work with what you have...and that isn't much. Too much blah, blah, fancy words, blah, blah. I wanted to know how they farmed in the city, I wanted to live with them. I'm still not even clear on all the politics. One thing that was made clear, that urban farming is a benefit for the city, for the people, and the environment. It supports sustainable food sources and security and makes an area more attractive, along with connecting communities. I hope to see this trend continue to grow.