Agriculture Abound: Cuba's Traditional Farming Techniques, Ecological Farms and Organoponicos
Article 4 in the Sustainable Cuba Series
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Cuba's extensive agriculture expands beyond Havana's urban gardens. We explored various types of farming methods, including those not limited by lack of space in a city: 'Organoponicos', 'Fincas Ecologicas' and traditional crop cultivation on large plots of land. To give a brief idea of the diversity of farming techniques and subsequent lifestyles that we came across...
Traditional large-scale crop cultivation in Viñales Pelon, a 84-year old traditional farmer and land-owner, feeds his whole (large) family on the equivalent of US $4 a month. He works the land mainly on his own, with a few family members that help him out. Every day he is out in the fields with his two trusty oxen at sunrise, cigar in his mouth, a bottle of home-brewed coffee in his pocket, and a smile upon his face. In his fields he grows two yucca varieties (for humans and for animals), sugar-cane, rice, beans, corn, malanga (a tropical root vegetable)... mainly starchy 'vianda', the staples of the Cuban diet. Despite living on such a low income, he never asks for money from the tourists who pass by daily and enjoy the shade under his hut, and instead he offers fascinating conversation, silly jokes and friendship to everyone who crosses his path. What a dude.
It is common for large-scale traditional farmers such as Pelon to form cooperatives together, in order to help each other out and to share resources. Here are co-op farmers from Viñales in a reunion discussing the upkeep costs of the communal tractor that they share...
'Finca agroecologica' (ecological farm) in Viñales
My understanding is that Cuba's 'fincas agroecologicas' differ from the 'organoponicos' in that they are more designed for tourist visits and have more land to cultivate as they are not based in cities. Here are the practices of an ecological farm, as described on a poster at Raul's farm in Vinales:
Crop rotation
Companion planting/planting in guilds
Inter-cropping
Soil conservation and improvement
Production of organic fertilizer
Application of organic fertilizer
Use of animals rather than machinery
Use of alternative biological pest control
Use of live barriers ('barreras vivas' as used in many 'organoponicos')
Crop diversity
Biodiversity
Raul's farm income came mainly from the restaurant which was popular with tourists, offering deliciously addictive cocktails, juices and coffee, and a small shop front which sold the vegetables and fruits cultivated on site. This income allowed Raul to hire many workers to look after the fields of pineapples, sugar cane, coffee, tobacco, yucca, malanga, and sweet potato, and the smaller garden area with tomatoes, carrots, chayote and cabbages. The whole farm was also covered with an abundance of fruit trees: Mamey, chirimoya, banana, coconut, and avocado.
Trinidad's 'Organoponico'
The second 'organoponico' that we visited was in the city of Trinidad, a UNESCO world heritage sight since 1988. The garden was looked after by Guillermo, Daily, and their 5-year old son. This lovely family also lived on the property, and three other people come during the day to work the land. It has existed for 20 years, and the family recently took it over when the old manager passed away. Located a few blocks from the migration office, it is a 20 minute walk from the centre of town.
One whole side of the garden was lined with neem trees. Neem, a tree native to India, was introduced to Cuba as part of the 'organoponico' package of practices by the Cuban ministry of agriculture. Neem leaves are used as a natural pesticide: Left to soak in tubs of water, they create a liquid which is then sprayed onto the plants. Locals also use the leaves to make anti-parasitic and antiseptic medicinal teas for human consumption. For enhanced pest management, corn and sunflowers surrounded the garden, forming a 'barrera viva' (live barrier). Likewise, a certain grass was planted as another type of 'barrera viva' which doubles up as feed for the animals. At the end of each raised bed they plant basil (two different varieties; white and purple), two types of succulent oregano, and marigolds to protect the plants from hungry bugs.
Drought had hit this 'organoponico' pretty hard. There was dry spell during the time of our visit, which had strongly affected the garden's productivity; most of the plants in the beds were dry and unhappy-looking. When the rain comes, they will plant corn, beans, and prepare most of the beds with fresh seeds. When there is water, apparently the garden is blooming and productive, many people come to buy produce there, and the 'organoponico' provides enough income for all of those who work there.
The land itself belongs to the Cuban government, and a portion of the income from the garden's produce sales goes directly to a local 'circulo infantil' ('infant circle', a Cuban educational initiative similar to a kindergarden) and to another local community initiative. In other 'organoponicos', a portion of the income goes to the government, and the government then distributes it to initiatives around Cuba or in the neighbourhood. However in this case in Trinidad, the income goes directly to it's destination and does not first pass through the government's hands.
This 'organoponico' kept pigs and rabbits for their meat. They were also keeping bees – a special type of bee which doesn't sting, and which stores honey in bubbles. We had the luxury of opening up the box for the first time (it had been closed for two years), watching the bees do their thing in their waxy home, and tasting the delicious honey by popping open a bubble. The bees are wonderful pollinators for the 'organoponico', and they are happy there: They had lived in the box for two years without having anyone 'look after them' (they had been left entirely to their own devices), and they hadn't swarmed.
One of the beds was filled with parsley that had gone to seed. Apparently they save some of their own seeds for future planting, but most of the seeds are purchased from 'Seed Houses' (as described in a past article). Guillermo thinks that most seeds come from Cuban sources, but there are some that are imported, such as beetroot.
On the land there many fruit trees: Coconuts; bananas; guavas; custard apples; mango; avocado; cherry; and pear. It was an interesting type of apple-pear which I'd never seen before, with a large bulbous pit in the middle, red skin which could crack open when dry, and white flesh inside. A Cuban botanist informed me that the Latin name for it is Zizijun Malasence, although I can't find out anything online with more information.
As we arrived Guillermo was up the pear tree, harvesting ripe pears. During our time on the farm he was kind enough to hit down many coconuts from the tree for us, and then split them open for us to drink the water. We left the farm laden with bags of coconut, succulent creeping New Zealand spinach, oregano, basil, parsley, custard apples, pears, and a giant bunch of medicinal neem leaves. We offered to pay for the goods, and they waved us away with a smile saying, 'No no no, it's all a gift. Please accept it'. All in all, a wonderful experience with an extremely friendly and generous family. As a final impressive touch, we noticed as we closed the gate behind us that the gate lock was made out of an old broken bike chain held together by a thin padlock!
