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Saturday 22 Jan
We arrive in Havana airport just at sunset and by the
time we negotiate immigration, change money and collect
our bags, the night is pitch black. We are pleased to
see a shiny new coach waiting for us (this will double
as our travelling home for much of the next two weeks)
- and to be introduced to Guido our helpful driver and
Denise our knowledgeable Cuban interpreter. There are
sixteen of us on the trip, including Neil, who has been
twice before and acts as general fixer. On the way to
the hotel we pass some notable landmarks, for example
the Plaza de la Revolution where Fidel Castro often
addresses huge crowds of people.
We check into the Deauville - a hotel on the Maleçon
where we are to stay five nights. After dinner some
of us go out for a short stroll along the Maleçon
- the sea front esplanade where old buildings sometimes
just collapse due to the ravages of salt water spray
and past neglect. Work to save them and return them
to habitable standard is ongoing. The night is warm
and balmy and groups of people are out enjoying themselves.
My room mate is Ron from Essex who, as it soon becomes
obvious, has a good sense of humour. Which is useful
in a country where you share a name with the national
drink. Rum is of course drunk in considerable quantities.
Though not by us of course, being sober gardeners. Seven
year old rum is the best - a pleasant amber coloured
drink best taken on its own. White rum is used for a
head-throbbing assortment of cocktails including the
hugely refreshing Mojito : rum, sugar, lime-juice, soda-water,
and mint (yerba-buena - the good herb). This last element
helps convince yourself that you’re drinking for
purely selfless reasons. However, it’s wise to
beware in Havana, as there are many large holes in the
roads and pavements which you can fall into! Not sure
if you can sue the council here.
Sunday 23 Jan
Ron and I awake to a stunning view of La Habana Vieja,
Old Havana, from the tenth floor of the Deauville. The
sun is rising on a beautiful day and today we are to
explore the old city. Lovely, sad Havana, capital of
Cuba for nearly 500 years, built with Spanish ill-gotten
gains from the new world, once rich sumptuous buildings,
mostly now ramshackle, overcrowded and polluted, but
don’t let that put you off. Also one of the most
intriguing, historically interesting, lively and artistic
cities you’ll ever visit. Just out of view from
the hotel lie four of the huge forts the Spanish were
obliged to build to protect their wealth from Pirates,
British and anyone else who wanted a slice.
Deauville breakfast is good J juice, tons of fruit
(Pineapple, Papaya, Citrus, Watermelon), coffee, bread,
jam and buns. Eggs and stuff for omnivorous types. Me?
I ate so much pineapple the first few days that my mouth
got sore and I had to switch to papaya (Fruita Bomba)!
Evening meals in the restaurant came with a somewhat
unpredictable service, but even vegetarians found enough
to eat after some polite negotiations.
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The sun shined cheerfully on us that first morning
in Havana. Visiting so many fascinating sights: buildings
walled of coral; an old pharmacy, every polished shelf
weighed down with dozens of vast jars and bottles; elusive
gardens of verdant abundance tucked away in odd corners
and in secret courtyards, bars where sat Hemingway and
Greene; and every corner turned bringing a new delight
to eyes and ears, for Havana is a city of great music
(Salsa, Son, Trova, Guajira, Bolero, Danzon, Rumba)
and dance. Afternoon entertainment included a visit
to the Ballet, that Ron and I missed due to long held
bias, but which was by all accounts “an-experience-not-to-be-missed”
A cold front from the north brought one of two chilly
showers that afternoon, and it persisted cool and windy
on Monday with the Maleçon closed temporarily
as huge waves crashed over it.
Monday 24 Jan
We visit HQ of the “Fundación de la Naturaleza
y el Hombre” - host organization of COSG in Cuba
for this trip. We are given a tour of the building and
an introduction to the work of the Fundación,
set up in 1992 to preserve and protect the environment
and culture of Cuba. Activities include environmental
education and support for many practical projects, mainly
in urban areas. For example, provision of “huertas”
(gardens) for schools, recycling initiatives and the
“Organoponicos” where we would be working.
The Fundación works as a forum to find explore
answers to environmental problems in Cuba. Permaculture
is seen as an important tool for change, and the Fundación
supports the training of teachers in this design system.
A large room in the building is dominated by a massive
dug-out canoe which was used a few years back for an
expedition circumnavigating from Ecuador to the Amazon
basin and then around the Caribbean Islands. The aim
was to show the shared cultural heritage of the countries
bordering the Caribbean.
The afternoon is taken up with trips to two Fundación
- supported projects. The first is a rooftop garden
belonging to Nelson. Dozens of Rabbits are kept in cages
for meat, while underneath Guinea pigs are used as automatic
waste collectors. Some of us found the sight of animals
in cages difficult to reconcile with our own values
but understood the worth of any extra food in this hard-up
country. At any rate all the animals looked healthy
and well cared for. There is also a good selection of
vegetables and culinary herbs grown in diverse containers.
A small worm colony helps to deal with any composting.
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The second project is a ‘Patio Project' run by
Justo. This aims to show what can be grown in a small
patio, yard or rooftop. The space is lush and verdant,
packed with plants at all levels.
On the way back to the hotel we stop for a tasty ice-cream
at Coppelia, a parlour set in a small park and a popular
haunt for Habaneros on a hot Sunday afternoon.
Tuesday 25 Jan
A.M. We visit the “Huerto de Salud Mental”
(Garden of Mental Health) in Havana; a project based
on a site reclaimed from an old tip and which uses work
on the land, in conjunction with therapies such as acupuncture,
as a means of treating mental illness.
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A wide range of crops is grown including tomatoes,
beans, lettuce, squash, okra and pak choi, also tree
crops such as mango and macadamia nut. The food is used
to supply patients at the nearby unit and patients past
and present work on the land for a modest wage. We see
a Neem tree: widely used in Cuba as a source of natural
pesticide. A question arises in our minds as to what
effects this powerful plant will have on beneficial
insects and when the decision is taken to use it
We set to work preparing a circle for a new ornamental
bed. We soon find how hard the ground can be here, especially
after three months of no rain. A pickaxe or mattock
(Guataca) would have been a more effective tool to bring
than our lightweight British forks.
Job done, we head off down the road to a Cuban style
feast in someone’s back yard. Rice, beans, salad,
juice, banana chips, cake and coffee all taste great.
Simple food, but cooked with care and given generously.
Despite full stomachs, all are in favour of a trip
to the beach, and we gambol contentedly in the Atlantic
surf for an hour or so.
Wednesday 26 Jan
We travel on the bus to Sancti Spiritus, about a hundred
miles from Havana .There is very little traffic on roads,
due to restrictions on car ownership, and on the Autopista
a steady 50 mph is easily maintained. It is very difficult
for Cubans to own a car, unless they work in a job where
it is considered necessary, such as a government official
or doctor. Other people must either use the bus (regular
but crowded), the train (slow as it stops everywhere)
or they can hitchhike, which is officially sanctioned
here. Many young Cubans can be seen standing by the
side of the highway, sometimes offering money for a
lift. Many trucks seem to be used as ad hoc buses in
addition to the regular ones. In Havana ‘Camels’
are popular. These are huge articulated buses pulled
by a truck and able to carry up to 200 people (some
obviously carry rather more). However such vehicles
do little to ameliorate the pollution problem in Havana,
compounded by the large numbers of 1950s Chevrolets
and Chryslers which block up the streets. They may be
some people’s idea of a dream car but clean and
efficient they’re not. On the country roads bicycles
and tractors seem almost as common as cars, and in Sancti
Spiritus horse drawn taxis and carts are ubiquitous.
It almost feels like you’ve landed in green transport
heaven.
We make a brief stop around midday to visit Cumanay
where we are welcomed with a lively local band featuring
incredible bongo playing, and so we get up to shake
our legs a bit. Then on to “La Ecoaldea El Jobera”
a village project being designed to function as a home
for actors to live and work, which aims to be environmentally
sensitive. We were impressed with the beautiful amphi-theatre
built by volunteers a few years ago, on the edge of
a luscious wetland area complete with woodpeckers, and
an abundance of other wildlife. The village caught our
imagination although some of us wondered if a more diverse
group of inhabitants would be more successful in its
ecological aims
We arrive at Sancti Spiritus in the early evening to
a jolly reception at the Fundación centre, we
are presented with straw hats fruit cocktails and a
dancing band. We were to have stayed in “Casas
Particulares” - a bit like B&Bs - private
rooms let out to tourists but due to water shortages
this was unfortunately not possible. Instead we were
booked in to stay at the Rancho Hatuey - a modern hotel
consisting of a central complex with restaurant, bar,
shop, outside swimming pool with bar. Around this stand
about twenty houses - each with four large rooms. Activities
and entertainment are laid on in the evenings, for example
salsa dancing lessons (teachers in lycra bodysuits -
a bit like ice-skating without the ice). The hotel has
won awards for its environmental development - there
are solar hot water panels for all the houses. Exotic
trees cover the site and chickens wander contentedly,
broods of chicks following. Good views over to the mountains,
and very peaceful.
{Hatuey was a native of Hispaniola at the time of
the Spanish conquest. He came to Cuba to warn the native
population of the evils they were likely to suffer under
Spanish rule. Unfortunately his story seemed so far
fetched to the native Cubans that he could find no-one
to believe his story. Soon he was captured by the Spanish
who prepared to burn him alive. Their one “concession”
was for a priest to offer him repentance and a chance
to go to heaven. Hatuey asked if there were Spanish
people in heaven, and on being told that there were,
memorably announced he would in that case rather die
a heathen.}
Thursday 27 Jan
We divide into two groups. Ours is to visit organoponico
“El Tomate”, an acre of tidy stone built
beds, the whole fenced in with spiky cacti, and ably
managed by Orelvio Bernal Rivero : a master of soil
and seed. We are set to work sieving and barrowing “Suelo
Vegetal” which is the main soil conditioner used
here. This is sediment recovered from a local reservoir
and containing many nutrients. It also has the property
of forming rock hard lumps - just don’t try kicking
it, like I did.
The set-up here is undeniably “low-tech”:
many tools are home made and seeds are stored in old
bottles. Orelvio works with a practised efficiency -
a twenty foot long bed is neatly sown in five minutes.
Intercropping (e.g. Pak Choi and Lettuce) and companion
planting (e.g. Tagetes marigolds, fennel) are both evidently
practised on the plot. Onions are grown from seed to
be later dug up and sold on as sets for a good price.
Detailed records are kept of what is grown in each bed,
allowing rotations to be properly maintained.
In the early afternoon we meet up with the others
at “La Ranchon”, the organoponico run by
Roager Santeastaban and Ismar Garce Palermo where a
tasty lunch is being cooked for us. But first we have
to dig up a row of Cúrcuma (Turmeric), used as
a food colouring and to make a sauce: the taste of which
is quite bland.
Lunch is fried fish, chicken soup, plenty of salad
and fruit. Refreshed we depart to meet up for a tour
of Sancti Spiritus with Alejandro, who as well as being
involved in the Fundación is also the local Mayor.
First stop the airy C16th church: twice sacked by Pirates,
once burned down and rebuilt. The old bridge over the
Yayabo river, the latter unfortunately suffering from
an excess of human population and a lack of rainwater
to judge by its languid green countenance. Finally the
old cobbled streets of the colonial town, windows grilled
with ornate wooden railings, scrawny dogs comatose in
the late afternoon sun.
Then back to the hotel for a swim, a Mojito and an
early dinner, for we have a date for the evening: a
visit to the local “Casa de la Trova” where
genuine Cuban music can be found. On a stage in a large
courtyard three bands are lined up to play for the delight
of all. This feels like the real Cuba - no tourist spot
- as local couples of all ages sway and circle, responding
to the compelling music with passionate enthusiasm.
Friday 28 Jan
Visit to Organoponico “La Montagne” (Roberto
Montagne Sosa, Maria Hosefa Mouriz) a vegetable enterprise
of about 2 acres. We spend the morning barrowing sawdust
onto the paths, there to be raked level. This conserves
moisture, and over time creates valuable humus which
can be added to the beds. La Montagne is fortunately
situated next to a large sawmill - so this resource
is readily available. Others help with the planting
of hundreds of Pak Choi. And onions. We are treated
to a taste of fresh peeled sugar cane.
In the afternoon we visit Linda Flor, run by Edith
Rodriguez and her husband with about six or seven workers.
The size of the enterprise has increased to about 3
or 4 acres, all devoted to flower production for local
sale. Today is the anniversary of birthday of Jose Marti
(famous poet of Cuba and leader of the struggle for
Independence from Spanish Colonialism in the C19th).
In honour of this we are treated to a recitation of
three poems by a young girl. Wonderful!
Then we work for an hour or two in the hot sun digging
up tubers for replanting. I discover there are two species
of ants here - one of which doesn’t sting. Luckily.
My fellow worker is Rislle Caballero, 72 years young
and with hands like leather from working the dry soil.
Lunch arrives about 3pm, to be followed by beer and
dancing in the packing shed.
Like many Organoponicos, Linda Flor was originally
set up as a Hydroponico, with high chemical input. This
was before the special period following the breakdown
of the soviet bloc in 1993 and the US trade blockade.
The supply of chemicals for agriculture dried up and
official policy turned to support organic production.
The first few years were known as the special period
and were very hard ones for Cuba but since then the
situation has improved greatly. Policies have liberalised
and Cubans are now encouraged to set up small businesses.
As a result, Cuba is now a world leader in sustainable
agriculture with a very scientific approach to pest
control and fertility. They are also very advanced in
medicine. Cuba has twice as many doctors per head of
population as UK. Many people travel to Cuba just for
medical treatment. The government is also keen to attract
tourists as this allows them to buy supplies from abroad.
Just enough time to visit the home of one Basilio Bernal
Mayea - known to all as Bebo, who has devoted his life
and home to the spreading of the Permaculture message.
Within his modest garden an incredible diversity of
plants (all having culinary, medicinal, or practical
uses) is grown. Chickens, rabbits, pigs and bees are
kept. This is very nearly a “closed” system,
in that almost all waste is recycled for use within
the garden. The upstairs has been converted to form
a classroom where courses are held on Permaculture subjects.
Outside, the roof is jam-packed with more plants, in
pots and containers, and on the veranda below Carambola
(Star fruit) wine -Bebo’s speciality - is produced.
Need I say we are soon tempted to taste this nectar?
Saturday 29 Jan
A day off from work in the fields to visit Trinidad
- one of the seven original towns established by the
Spanish in 1514 and pillaged several times by pirates
thanks to its significant wealth at that time. On the
way we stopped at the Torre de Manaca Iznaga, a tower
built for sugar plantation owners to keep an eye on
slaves working in the fields and spot any attempt at
escape. Although the importance of sugar has declined
since the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries it still
remains the most important Cuban export crop. Driving
across country area we see cane being harvested on large
enterprises often now run as co-operatives. Elsewhere,
citrus is widely grown, also bananas, mangos, pineapples
and tobacco. The last may be a less important crop in
future now that Fidel has given up cigars!
Trinidad is jam packed with architectural gems (a UNESCO
world heritage site), so is of course featured heavily
on the tourist agenda. One bar specialises in a drink
called Canchanchara, comprising of Rum, honey, sugar
and lime juice and served in small earthenware pots.
A very soothing drink.
Later that afternoon we travel to the nearby Playa Ancon
for swimming in the Caribbean. The beach is soft sand
with much coral and behind it there are large lagoons.
The sea is lovely, warm and calm. I watch the sun set
whilst gently treading water - a most pleasurable experience.
Sunday 30 January
Today our last day in Sancti Spiritus, and we have a
leaving party planned for us. First though we have work
to do in the field at “Organoponico Los Hornos”.
I am back to my (gender assigned?) role of shifting
piles of Suelo Vegetal from one place to another. Others
are detailed to clearing beds and cultivating crops.
Finally people start arriving from the other projects
we have worked on or visited. We gather under the shade
of a banana grove where a big meal has been set out
on a table in the corner of the plot. In addition to
all the food, there’s rosepetal wine, rum, and
star fruit wine again. All this fine living - and we
thought we were coming to work…
A while later a band arrives to play for us - a trio
of guitarist and two singers (one with maracas) - and
we listen and practice our dance-steps. After a while
we decide they need a rest and a chance at the picnic
table, so we sing them some English and Welsh songs
which, if not quite so professional, go down pretty
well and add to the general friendliness. Finally its
time to go back to the rancho for a swim in the pool
before dinner. After dinner we sit around and feedback
on our experiences of the trip so far.
Monday 31 January
We pack up at the Rancho Hatuey and go into Sancti Spiritus
where Neil has a quick meeting with Alejandro before
our bus leaves to take us back to Havana at one. Meanwhile
the rest of us take a stroll around the town and buy
provisions for later. Everyone seems very relaxed and
no-one seems to be in a hurry. We find a restaurant
offering take away pizzas at 5 Cuban pesos (about 20p)
and stock up. The tourist places all charge in convertible
Pesos (CCPs) which are equivalent to dollars and so
are more expensive - too much for most Cubans to be
able to afford. The local shops run mainly on Cuban
Pesos. Unfortunately this means something of a two tier
system with some Cubans who work in tourist industry
and are well paid with “dollar” tips and
ordinary Cubans who have no access to dollars. However
this is seems to be accepted as a price that must be
paid for foreign money. We did sometimes feel uncomfortable
being in places that most Cubans would not be able to
walk into. The town is full of interesting market stalls
selling for example kerosene stoves made out of steel
reinforcing bar.
Back at the bus we compare purchases. Someone has
bought a bunch of about 40 tiny bananas for a few pesos.
Ideal travelling food. We say our goodbyes to Alejandro
and Edith at the Fundación and we’re away.
On the way back to Havana we stop at the botanical
gardens in Cienfuegos which is acres full of hundreds
of species of palms, huge stands of various kinds of
bamboos and tropical trees of every imaginable kind.
We are taken on a tour of a small part of the gardens
- the whole site could take a week. We see the “cannon
ball tree” which has a huge spherical fruit growing
from vines arising from the trunk, rather than the leafy
canopy There is also one called "Mother-in-Law’s-Picnic-Tree"
due to its outlying branches being weighed down with
large and heavy fruit. We are starting to understand
Cuban humour. The coconut palms are also risky places
to rest under. The guide delights in explaining that
many of the trees aren’t what they appear to be.
I.e. “Yes, that looks like a palm tree, but actually
it’s a fern…“etc.
Various bits of vegetation are scavenged for souvenir
purposes. But approaching one tree we are told to keep
our hands firmly in our pockets. This is of course the
Coca tree, which once contributed its name - and stimulating
effects - to Coca-Cola and is now widely grown in Columbia
to cater for the US “recreation” industry.
Both “coca-cola” and “pepsi”
are of course not sold in Cuba although an -equally
unpleasant - alternative is available for intransigent
addicts. This makes its way into the local cocktail
“Cuba-Libra”, whose other ingredient being
- surprise surprise - Rum.
Back at the Deauville in Havana, Ron and I have an
even nicer room than before, this time with a balcony
and lots of space for our early morning Yoga.
Tuesday 1 February
We visit a motivating project in Havana run by Vilda
and Pepe They promote healthy living, gardening and
food preservation and present a popular programme on
Cuban TV every lunchtime where they demonstrate recipes.
The food preservation part of the project is seen as
especially important as there it is often a shortage
of fresh food during the rainy period (August - Sept)
and the ensuing hurricane season, when crops are difficult
to grow. They publish a range of books and leaflets,
distributed very cheaply - encouraging people to eat
healthy food and explaining how many unusual fruits
and vegetables can be grown and preserved easily.
We are taken to a project just across the road where
a school garden has been designed to grow a huge range
of vegetables and fruits. We are immediately struck
by the obvious vitality of all the plants which do not
seem to suffer any pests or diseases. Perhaps this is
due to the careful attention of the gardener we meet,
for whom this must be a full time job. In any event
the garden is completely organic containing many example
of Permaculture design techniques, for example the use
of perennial species of herbs and companion plants interplanted
with annual species of vegetables. Watering is carried
out using a drip irrigation system, for which the parts
are unfortunately difficult to obtain. Composting is
carried out in permanent stone bins. An important element
of the system is an area of drying racks, basically
frames of chicken wire angled to catch the sun. These
are used to dry herbs and vegetables quickly and efficiently.
The next project we visit is on a much grander scale
than the family-run Organoponicos we have been to before.
This is the UBPC Cooperative project and as well as
growing several acres of vegetables there is a large
nursery for the production of ornamental plants and
trees. The project is run on a very scientific basis,
with extensive use of beneficial insects and organisms.
These are bred on site in a special area that although
basic in terms of resources is run as an efficient laboratory,
producing a wide range of biological controls including
ladybirds, predatory wasps, nematodes and fungi. These
are used in conjunction with”host “plants
in the field, in particular maize and sunflowers. A
precise timetable is used to introduce the larvae or
other controls whenever crops are most liable to attack
from pest species.
Another important area of the site is the composting
area. Using the Howard method, windrows are formed of
alternating layers of vegetable waste and animal manure.
When the initial fermentation is over the compost is
transferred to worm beds which are built out of concrete
and about 4 ft across. A system of pipes collects filtrate,
which is mostly pure humic acid, from these beds, very
valuable as a fertiliser. The worms themselves also
have a high market value and can be sold on the international
market. As well as this, a quantity of compost is produced
which can be used for soil improvement.
Impressed as we are by all this organic wizardry,
we cannot fail to be equally delighted by the lunch
which has been prepared for us: Delicious juices (carrot,
orange, watermelon); fried taro chips; rice, several
salads; more fruit and coffee to finish. Vilda and Pepe’s
influence can be seen here.
After saying our goodbyes we head off for a final visit
to the beach to brave the Atlantic breakers once more.
Wednesday 2 February
Today we’re visiting “Las Terrazas Biosphere
Reserve” in Pinar del Rio province to the west
of Havana. This is an amazing project, covering over
two hundred square kilometres and developed since 1971
in response to the severe erosion of the steep hilly
land in this area caused by a history of coffee plantations
and later by cattle farming. The slopes were terraced
with bulldozers and about twenty different tree species
were planted. Now fully forested, the area looks as
though it had always been in this state. During a short
walk along a trail we see several birds including hummingbirds
and a variety of flowering plants. We eat at a superb
whole food restaurant in the village here, with a nice
variety of refreshing juices drunk through reed straws.
After lunch there’s time to visit the river where
a series of pools are used for natural swimming.
Thursday 3rd February
A free day to wander round Havana before we return to
the airport once again. Three of us are invited into
the family home of Gilberto - a musician who we met
on the street, and his wife. It is a revealing experience
to see inside a typical Havana home. Two rooms have
been divided horizontally to make four tiny ones where
all the activities of life go on. A tiny courtyard is
shared with numerous other households and room must
be found here for washing and drying. Cuba has managed
to avoid creating the kind of shantytown seen in many
Caribbean and South American cities, but overcrowding
is still a reality. Despite this Cubans remain a resolutely
happy people. We feel so lucky to have had the unique
experience of traveling and working in this warm and
friendly country and not a little sad to be leaving.
Brigade Reports
January 2000 by Stephanie Greenwood
January 2001 by Wynne Kelly
January 2002 by Wynne Kelly
Jan/Feb 2003 by Catherine Miller
Jan/Feb 2005 Brigade by Chris Day
Other Reports from Cuba
January 2000 - by Jenny Bussey
Febrary/March 2000 by Mike Weaver
May 2000 by Nicola Duffield
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