Cuba, and more specifically, Havana has long been recognised as an exemplar for the way in which Urban Agriculture can be used to combat the social and economic devastation caused by the removal of oil from a nation. The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil, released in 2006, documents the way the Cuban people and their government responded to ‘The Special Period in the Time of Peace’ allowing life in Cuba to slowly normalise. In Havana it is now cheaper to purchase organically produced fruit and vegetables that has been grown within the city than the more industrially produce from its rural hinterland and as a result 90% of the fruit and vegetables consumed there are produced within the city.
Through this evidence alone it is clear that Cuba is a great place to start when considering Urban Agriculture, it is revered throughout the world and as a result is the most widely reported and publicised example of a functioning Urban Agricultural system. This documentary offers an insight into the people who grow food within Cuba’s urban landscape as well as the way it is produced and how it is regarded elsewhere – containing interviews from widely respected individuals like Richard Heinberg – making it well worth watching.
Cheers, The UAB
The Urban Agriculture Blog 