Food Security and Sustainability in Cuba’s Economic Transition
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On day 8 of our study abroad trip, our group visited the Artemisa Province which is located about an hour and a half southwest of Havana. The farm that we visited is run by a couple who immigrated to Cuba to live their dream of being farmers. They wanted to focus on sustainable agriculture and…
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Aside from everything we learned regarding agriculture, economics, politics, food security, and healthcare, I was able to experience so many unique aspects of Cuban culture. Cubans evidently have a very strong passion for music, dance, art, and food- which also appeared to be their primary forms of entertainment. We spent one night in Viñales, a…
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As we toured farms that grew crops like coffee, mangos, sweet potatoes, and tobacco, the workers explained how they are required by contract to give a percentage of their harvest to the state, but that they are able to do what they wanted with the rest. We were also told that the state is trying…
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One of our final excursions in Cuba was an overnight stay in La Picadora, a cooperative farming community. Here, people lived very traditionally with a lack of modern technology that would ease their heavy workload. We were also told about the lack of labor due to the youth moving away from the countryside, and this…
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While in Cuba, we stayed with host families. We didn’t stay in hotels or anything of that sort, but we lived like the Cubans to get the full experience. Our host was an elderly lady who was a retired lawyer from the communications sector. She had a daughter that lives in Panama and her son…
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Our whole life, Cuba is preached to us as some horrible place because of communism and how the government was ran for so many years. Personally, after my visit there, I think that is a load of crap. Cuba has a lot of history and if you’re interested in the intense history that they have,…
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Although we spent most of our time in Havana, we did travel to a small agricultural community about 6 hours away. We stayed with our host Tete and his family on their farm. When you think of agritourism in the United States, this is exactly what this was like. Tete built several houses for students…
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On one of our many nights in Havana, we ventured to an art museum that also harbored different areas of nightlife and music. It was a facility I’d never experienced before and I fell in love with the people and culture. What once was a warehouse for light manufacturing, they developed the building to host…
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The Cubans do love their beans and rice, and I can’t blame them. At almost every meal a key component of the meal was congri, which is a delicious dish of rice and beans cooked together. The bean juice adds flavor to the rice and pairs perfectly. No matter where we went on the island…