Havana/Farmer Ivonne Moreno sees in permaculture, in addition to a philosophy of life, a sustainable model to produce food, reduce the environmental footprint and project sustainable communities in urban or rural areas of Cuba.
These and other principles have guided the planting of dozens of species of fruit trees, vegetables, tubers, aromatic and medicinal plants, as well as shrubs and timber trees on their La Luisa farm, located in Cotorro, one of the 15 municipalities that make up the capital. Cuban.
Its food forest, as defined, provides fruits, seeds, flowers, roots, leaves, condiments, medicinal products and firewood, among other inputs, in addition to serving as a habitat for birds, insects and other animal species that enrich the land and enhance the biodiversity.
“When I hear about an endangered fruit, I look for its seed and plant it. I do not remove leaf litter to preserve soil microorganisms. I also use organic fertilizers, from the manure dumped in a nearby dairy farm, along with shells and other waste,” Moreno explained to IPS during a visit to his farm.
Farmer Ivonne Moreno sees in permaculture, in addition to a philosophy of life, a sustainable model for producing food.
However, the food forest “we have not been able to fully implement, because it also includes animals that must be kept loose and whose food cannot compete with that of people. “You have to design it properly,” said the 51-year-old farmer, married and mother of two daughters.
Moreno’s connection with La Luisa began in childhood when he spent vacations on the 0.7 hectare farm acquired by his great-great-grandfather in 1878.
After residing in a populous area of the capital, in 2010 he decided to settle permanently in those lands where “the connection with nature is direct.”
And, without knowing it, “I started doing permaculture. I assumed it as an ideology of life, with an awareness of taking care of the environment and generating the least amount of waste possible.”
It is, he added, “a way of living wherever you are, on a plot in the countryside or in an apartment in the city.”
Permaculture is a concept that has evolved, from “permanent agriculture” in its beginnings, to a more contemporary one related to “permanent culture”.
As a design tool, with principles, practices and attitudes, it conceives sustainable human settlements
As a design tool, with principles, practices and attitudes, it conceives sustainable human settlements in which people coexist harmoniously with other animal and plant species, and the environmental impact is mitigated.
It contemplates sustainable agriculture, the construction of ecological homes, as well as greater use of natural resources and clean energy sources. It has political, economic and social connotations.
According to experts, permaculture is a creative response to the environmental crisis, in a world where the availability of energy and resources become global problems.
Permaculture arrived in Cuba in the early 90s of the last century. The economic crisis on the Island conditioned the development of agricultural production systems on more sustainable bases, more due to the lack of resources to acquire fuel, machinery and agrochemicals than consciously.
/ Jorge Luis Baños / IPS
A development network and groups of permaculturists extend throughout this Caribbean island country, articulated around the non-governmental Fundación Antonio Núñez Jiménez de la Naturaleza y el Hombre (FANJ), the main promoter of this practice in Cuba.
Established in 1994, the FANJ is a civil cultural and scientific institution dedicated to the research and promotion of educational, community and research programs and projects, particularly those related to culture, society and the environment.
“I went through a first approach workshop at the FANJ. Then came the design workshop. My husband Juan Carlos Martínez and I are facilitators of this knowledge and the farm is the headquarters of the permaculture group in the municipality of Cotorro, which brings together about 10 people,” Moreno explained.
He specified that, based on the learning, there is a “base plan” and a “contextual plan.” The first reflects what exists and the other, what is projected to form a system that is as efficient as possible.
Moreno’s “dream” includes the construction of a biodigester, as well as the installation of windmills, solar panels, fish ponds and cisterns to store rainwater.
In the case of La Luisa, Moreno’s “dream” includes the construction of a biodigester, as well as the installation of windmills, solar panels, fish ponds and cisterns to store rainwater.
“We would have liked to move faster and have all those systems up and running. But the economic situation of the country makes the purchase of materials and supplies very difficult,” lamented the farmer, who takes care of the farm together with her husband and the occasional support of her father.
He highlighted “the repair of various parts of the house with natural materials, without using cement, to promote air conditioning. We also separate black water from gray water and install filters. It seems to work well, because in the place where these last ones flow, the grass remains green.”
In more than a hundred hives, melipona bees – a stingless species – promote pollination; They provide honey, bee bread – concentrated pollen – and wax, products that, in the absence of chemicals, reinforce their nutritional, medicinal and cosmetic value.
“My dream is to have at least 200 hives, but the conditions have to be created. For now, as part of the project, we promote training on the management and care of the honeycombs, because they are feasible to have them in any place where the bees can be guaranteed adequate flowering,” Moreno stressed.
He commented that a problematic context such as the Covid pandemic showed the opportunities of permaculture, “because even when locked up there was a variety of foods, instead of depending on one or two crops, which is a factor of vulnerability to phenomena such as hurricanes.”
A problematic context such as the covid pandemic highlighted the opportunities of permaculture
The production of La Luisa is mainly for self-consumption, but surplus fruit and honey are also sold, and donations are made to minors with oncological conditions, as well as to homes for girls and boys without family protection.
Furthermore, as part of a local development project, pending approval, Moreno hopes that the stay on the farm serves as an experience to learn about the ways of doing permaculture in a specific space, which would also provide income to make the exploitation sustainable. .
Specialists agree that stimulating permaculture in this Caribbean country would contribute to the search for food security, environmental sanitation, rescue and preserve agricultural culture, generate jobs and design urban or rural spaces more in line with native needs and traditions.
It would also be a stimulus for the diversification of clean energy sources, promoting recycling, improving soil treatment and using water more rationally.
Experts on the subject point out that the family space has been the scale of the introduction of permaculture in Cuba.
Statistics indicate that family agriculture and private producers provide 70 percent of the food produced nationally, generally through more efficient uses of land and better soil conservation compared to conventional agricultural systems.
Family agriculture and private producers provide 70 percent of the food produced nationally.
However, it is a problematic issue in a country with poor agricultural production that maintains high prices and forces the import of around 80 percent of food for domestic consumption.
The majority of Cuban families dedicate more than 70 percent of their monthly expenses to food.
Although in recent years multiple actions have been developed to move towards agriculture with a sustainability focus, the paradigm of productivism of conventional agriculture in Cuba still shows its hegemony.
Academic spaces and small producers insist on overcoming this approach that prioritizes obtaining large volumes of production, despite the high economic, energy and environmental costs.
In addition to degrading natural resources and increasing vulnerability to climate change, it is considered a partial and unsustainable solution that also limits the transition towards food sovereignty.
