Some History
The ACF program, jointly with ICIODI,
established the first NGO permaculture and urban agriculture
(pc/UA) team in Havana, taking over the moniker of the
"Green Team" (started in 1994). Training courses were
run and 'Se Puede' magazine was published, with financial
and technical support from Australians, and a good subsidy
from AusAID.
A year later, the Cuban team valiantly
continued work in the vacuum left when their employer
ICIODI was dissolved. Another year later, the Cuban
team came under the control of la Fundacion de Antonio
Nuñéz Jiménez por la Naturaleza y el Hombre (FANJNH
or FNH). At that stage, the ACF was the only supporter
(funding, training, coaxing, etc) of the permaculture
and urban agriculture program of the Fundacion.
The most important task of the ACF program
was always community and organisational "capacity building",
with the aim of leaving the communities and organisations
self-reliant, ie. not dependent on foreign aid or so-called
"experts". Thus, for example, we were very reluctant
to build demonstration sites or training centres, as
this would detract from the energy and spontaneity and
"ownership" of initiatives at the true grass roots.
We constantly impressed upon out Cuban organisational
counterparts that the best local people should not be
co-opted into "projects", but rather instead, that they
be supported and encouraged in what they themselves
had initiated.
Occasionally, a foreigner would get
overly enthusiastic, and themselves lead the building
of a garden or pond or compost scheme or demo site.
Every single one of these cases resulted in a legacy
object that was eventually abandoned some time after
the foreigner had left Cuba.
Many people, over a number of years,
were involved in getting the Metropolitan Park (PMH)
project(s) going (and all the other projects). It is
worth mentioning Eugenio Gras, who revised and translated-to-English
some of the first versions of PMH project documents.
And many Australians have been involved
in this movement; for years Wayne Wadsworth was the
Aussie side of the team initiating many of the projects,
providing life-changing inspirational energy, and long
before the ACF was involved in the Green Team; Pamela
Morgan has been working as one of the Cuban team in
Havana since 1997 doing "capacity building" and project
management and permaculture of the highest quality.
Her humility and diplomacy (and success) is attested
to by the fact that her name is never mentioned in the
stories like those above; always a Cuban is empowered
to have "ownership" of a project, no matter how much
of the money or guidance or training came from foreign
aid.
The truth is that almost all of the
ideas and drive and technical expertise has always come
from Cubans; with the role of foreign aid generally
being as an 'enabler' - the strength of Cuban culture
and society wouldn't allow it to be any other way!
Short overview of current ACF projects in Cuba
ACF is currently (December 2000) running two aid projects
in Cuba, each in partnership with a Cuban community organisations.
The project with the Foundation for Nature and Humanity
(FNH*)
expands and improves a group of community trainers and
permaculture gardens in each of four inner-city municipalities
of Havana where we have been working for the last five
years, and it establishes a new area in the provincial
capital of Cienfuegos.
These are areas of particular poverty and poor nutrition.
The project will produce and distribute educational booklets,
diaries and newsletters, and improve an existing training/information
centre.
* - in Spanish, the FNH is "la Fundacion Antonio Nunez
Jimenez De La Naturaleza Y El Hombre" (FANJNH or FNH).
The project with the Botanists Association
of Cuba (ANAB*) will
- establish a Centre for Domestic Fruit Growing and
Preserving,
- improve an existing fruit and nut tree nursery,
- plant 16 hectares tree stock as components of a
new city-wide community education program,and
- establish a community participation and reforestation
model in one neighbourhood of Havana.
The broad objective of this project is to increase nutritional
diversity, local food security, livelihood and environmental
ambient quality in urban neighbourhoods of Havana by promoting
the planting of fruit trees and the use and preservation
of fruit.
* - in Spanish, the ANAB is "la Asociación Nacional de
Aficionados a la Botánica y Protección de la Naturaleza"
(ANAB or ANABPN).
Both of these project are due to be
completed later in 2001.
 Information
about previous ACF projects in Cuba
Donations to the ACF projects can be sent to:
ACF Cuba Appeal
340 Gore St
Fitzroy
VIC 3065
Australia
Adam Tiller - December 2000
Melbourne, Australia
+61 3 9416 8812
adamt@peg.apc.org
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