WEBVTT

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In the 1980s,

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this Holstein cow was a symbol of what
Cubans called the Triumph of the Revolution.

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She was so revered

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when she died her body was
stuffed and put on display

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called (inaudible) white udder in English.
She lived on a

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collective factory farm. During her life, she
held a world record for milk production.

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Her daily output was published
on the front page of newspapers

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along with the weather.

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Today the feedlots

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where cows like white
udder lived are empty.

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Abandoned because it took too many
resources to look after them.

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Imagine if the entire energy
supply in your country

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suddenly disappeared. That’s
what happened here in Cuba

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when the soviet bloc collapsed in 1989.
There was a massive food shortage

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and almost no fuel, fertilizer
or chemicals to grow it.

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Cuban president Fidel Castro called this
time of economic crisis the special period.

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To feed the people, Cuba
established the largest program

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of organic and sustainable
agriculture ever undertaken.

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[music]

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[music]

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Cuba has been called the last
truly romantic place on earth.

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[music]

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It is a richly diverse island environment

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that combines tropical marine habitat

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ith mountains and
rainforests, fertile plains

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and wetlands.

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Sianaga Zapata(ph) is the largest wetland
in the Caribbean supporting many permanent

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and migrating species.

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Of all Caribbean countries Cuba maintains
the most natural biodiversity.

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There are over

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11 million people in Cuba.

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Cuban culture is an amalgam of its Spanish

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and African routes. Cubans are a proud and
passionate people. From the beginning

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of the colonial era, there was
been political ferment in Cuba.

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A chaffing against the reins of powers
that have sought to dominate the country.

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The main island of Cuba is the
largest in the Caribbean.

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It’s more than 1200 kilometers
from the province of Pinar del Rio

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in the west to Guantanamo in the east.
The city of Havana

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is on the north coast only a 144
kilometers from the Florida keys

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of the United States.

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[sil.]

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Culturally and politically,

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the gulf is much wider.

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Havana pulses with a languid
energy of survival.

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Like all of Cuba,

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it’s a study in paradox.

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It’s the only city in the
world with two Lenin parks.

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One dedicated to Vladimir Lenin,

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the other to John Lennon.

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Imagine.

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The eclectic mix of architectures

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reflects the influences of a succession
of international superpowers.

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First Spain, then the United
States and most recently

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the Soviet Union.

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When Christopher Columbus
arrived here in 1492,

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he was searching for the
riches of the orient.

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He was disappointed but under
Spanish colonial rule,

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Cuba bore a different wealth.
Sugar. During the era,

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sugar was the world’s most valuable
commodity like oil is today.

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Over time sugar, tobacco, coffee,
tropical fruits like bananas

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and cattle ranching generated fortunes
for an elite society of landowners.

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Politically Cuba became a banana republic,

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a country dominated by foreign interests
that extracted a wealth of resources.

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[music]

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The Russian propaganda film, \"I am
Cuba\" describes the times leading up

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to the revolution.

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It shows a country of despairty.

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Wealthy Cubans and foreign corporations
own the most fertile land.

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[sil.]

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The majority of rural Cubans lived
in squalor locked in poverty,

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they barely subsisted on small plots of
marginal land. They were the desperate labor

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upon whom the plantation economy depended.

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[music]

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The privileged lived in opulence. Rich Cubans
shared the country’s wealth with the foreign owners

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of commodity corporations
primarily from the United States.

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To protect their commercial interests,

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the U.S. supported a series of repressive
dictatorships that were committed

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to maintaining the status quo.
Prostitution was a booming business

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and the political metaphor
for government corruption.

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[sil.]

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From workers and students in the city

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and from the peasants in the country side,
there was mounting pressure for change.

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Beginning in the mid-1950s,

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the country gradually became
consumed by a civil war of retal.

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[music]

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Fidel Castro’s revolution

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took power on New Year’s Day 1959.

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During the early years, tensions
between Cuba and the U.S. escalated

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as Castro’s communist intentions
became apparent. He forged an alliance

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with the Soviet Union.
The Cuban missile crisis

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and the failed U.S. backed invasion
at the bay of pigs resulted

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in a strict U.S. trade embargo.
Cuba’s economy

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became increasingly dependent
on the soviet bloc.

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Castro’s initial plan was to take land
from the wealthy and foreign owners

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and give it to individual peasant farmers.
Under the soviet influence,

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this was abandoned. Huge
state owned collectives

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were established to grow food, primarily
sugar for export to the soviet bloc.

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During the first three decades,
after the Castro revolution,

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Cuba became committed to an
industrial system of agriculture

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that required large quantities of
expensive, non-renewable resources.

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It’s the same system used today by northern
countries like Canada and the United States.

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Supplied and heavily
subsidized by the soviet bloc,

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Cuba used as much fuel, machinery and
agricultural chemicals per hectare

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as any nation on earth.

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The collapse of the soviet bloc
created a crisis for Cuba.

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With virtually no fuel, the
streets were empty of cars.

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Public transit nearly ground to a halt.

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There were constant power blackouts. People
spent most of their time in ration lines.

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Food was in such short supply
Cubans’ daily caloric intake

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dropped by a third.

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Cuba was forced to revolutionize food
production. In developed countries like Canada,

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it takes as many as 12 calories
of non-renewable energy

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to produce a single calorie
of food energy. In Cuba,

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the ratio is the opposite.

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Cuban farmers have learnt
to do much more with less.

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(inaudible) is an agronomist

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one of the legions of scientists produced
by Cuba’s remarkable education system.

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He and others like him have played a vital
role in overcoming Cuba’s food crisis.

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What they learnt about conserving resources

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could be critical lessons
for the developed world.

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Suddenly, we began to talk about energy
especially because of the large quantities of oil

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that have to be used to produce
agricultural chemicals.

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This is the way it was in Cuba
before the special period.

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The special period has taught us,
this type of industry is vulnerable.

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Extremely vulnerable and dependent.

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The community of Alamar(ph)
is a suburb of Havana.

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It was built during the time
of the soviet influence.

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Today this three hectare garden

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in the middle of the city produces many of
the vegetables consumes in the community.

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With no fuel to transport food,

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Cuba started to grow food in the cities.

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Grown without chemicals, the
production is almost entirely organic.

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These urban gardens are
called organoponico in Cuba.

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Miguel Salcines is president of the
cooperative that operates the organoponico

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and is the manager of the farm.
Trained as an agronomist,

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before the special period, he was a
bureaucrat in the ministry of agriculture.

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In the early stages of this development,

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the idea was to create production
units that are profitable.

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When the city of Alamar was being
constructed, the land that is today a garden

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was a vacant lot. The planned
site of a sports complex.

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Today, there are 84 people who work in the
garden. It’s way worker owned cooperative.

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The land tenure is called usafa(ph).
The government allows the co-op

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to use the land for free as long
as they use it to produce food.

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The garden grows more
than 50 different crops.

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In addition to vegetables,

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there are many different types of ornamental and
medicinal plants as well as some fruits and coffee.

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[music]

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While some crops are seasonal,

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there is vegetable production year round.

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Crop production is very intensive.

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The yield is 15 to 20
kilograms per square meter.

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This is really high yield.
When the harvest is finished,

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the same day we fertilize either with
earthworm humus or with compost.

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As soon as that’s done, we bring the
plants from the cultivation house

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and start to plant. The plants
have spent more than 20 days

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in the cultivation house.

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The gardens are also extremely efficient
because all of the nutrients and plant waste

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are recycled back into the
soil as compost or humus.

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These concrete beds

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are filled with plant and animal waste
from the garden and collected in the city.

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A colony of millions of
California red earthworms

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turns the waste into a
rich natural fertilizer.

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One of these worms is capable of turning
it into 20,000 in only one year.

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It’s also hard working. You treat them
with love and good working conditions.

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The worms eat and excrete the waste.
Enzymes in their gut

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turn the nutrients into a form that can
be readily absorbed by growing plants.

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Replacing chemical fertilizers with earthworm
humus and compost has become one of the

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fundamentals of Cuban agriculture.

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In addition to organic
fertilizer, the garden also uses

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only biological pest control.

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(inaudible) is the garden’s specialist
in plant health and pest control.

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When he finds an insect infestation,

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he uses a predator of parasites
of the insect to control it.

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In his insect rearing lab,
as in all Cuban agriculture,

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nothing is wasted.

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Here in the laboratory, we raise various
insects, principally lace wings and ladybugs.

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They are two of the most important
predators in the Cuban ecosystem

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because they feed on various other insects.

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In addition to predators, Amilio(ph)
used bacteria to control some insects

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as well as natural chemical extracts
from plants like garlic and onion

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to control fungi and plant diseases.

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The garden also uses
plants to control pests.

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Marigold repel some insects. Sun
flowers attract beneficial insects.

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The diversity of the garden mimics nature
where many different species grow together.

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One helping to protect another.
It’s the practice of monoculture

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where large tracts of land are planted with a single
species that creates the most severe pest problems.

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[music]

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Most of the food is sold
in the garden store.

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Prices are set by supply and demand.
This free market

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is a radical change for a communist state
where the government owns and controls

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virtually everything in the country.

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It makes working in the garden
extremely lucrative. Half the profits

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are reinvested in the operation. The
other half is divided among the workers.

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This is basically private employment

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because it’s a cooperative
which has the land and use it.

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But all the profits belong to the members. You
have to put in more efforts. You work in the heat

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without air-conditioning but the pay off is greater.
The salary can be more than 1000 pesos a month.

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1,000 pesos a month is nearly double

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what a doctor makes in Cuba.

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Amilio, the garden specialist in
plant health and pest control

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works six days a week. Even though,
he only lives about 15 kilometers

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from the garden, he spends
as much as two hours a day

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riding the semi trailer
buses Cubans call camels.

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I get up at 5am take a
bath and have breakfast.

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Then I take the camel bus
which gets me to work 7 am.

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The work day begins at 7 am and
goes until four in the afternoon.

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I also have other small farmers in the city

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that I advice and I go to
their houses in the evenings.

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I have small farmers that I help every night
of the week. So I get home at about eight

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or nine at night everyday. And this
is how I spend the working day.

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[music]

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On the weekends my fiancé comes and visits here.
We don’t have many other places where we can go.

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[music]

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Amelio rents a tiny apartment in a family
home. This type of free enterprise

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is technically illegal but because
of a housing shortage in Havana,

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the law is not strictly enforced.

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Amelio’s girlfriend Hanna is Japanese. She came to
Cuba to study dance at the Cuban national school.

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Like all students, she had
to perform community work.

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She and Amelio met when she was
assigned to work in the garden.

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She worked to be organoponico.

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We felt a natural attraction for
each other and we fell in love.

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It wasn’t because I was looking for a
fonder. It was just a natural thing

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between two people, we met. For many years,

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Cuba has been sending doctors and teachers to Third
World countries for what the government calls

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international service. They will
also planning to send scientists

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like agronomists to these countries. Amelio
hopes he will be sent abroad to work.

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There is a movement

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to help primarily Venezuela and it’s believed that this year and in
the next year, there will be more than 5,000 professional sent there.

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It’s good

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and I want to go because every Cuban wants to be
part of internationalism because they help others

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but they also improve themselves.

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City gardens like those in Havana create an
urban landscape that is unique in the world.

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The gardens produce more than just food.

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They are also important green spaces that
provide shade and improve the air quality

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by capturing pollutants and absorbing
carbon dioxide. A greenhouse gas

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that causes global warming.
Growing food in the city

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is a necessity for Cubans but
it’s also become a passion.

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There are more than 10,000
urban gardens in Cuba.

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Some are large cooperative
organoponicos providing 350000

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well paying jobs in towns and cities.

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Some farms

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like this one in a Havana
suburb are family operations.

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This farm also keeps livestock

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in addition to growing
fruits and vegetables.

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The government supports these farms
by providing technical advice

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and tools and materials at minimal cost.

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People are encouraged to use any
available piece of land in the city.

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This garden is in a vacant lot

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between two houses.

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[music]

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Nearly every public institution in Cuba
is involved in gardening. Most schools,

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hospitals, senior homes and
even factories have gardens

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like this primary school in Havana.

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[music]

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Urban gardens were part of the solution.
Rural life also had to be transformed.

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In times of economic crisis,

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people who have access to
land usually fair the best.

00:21:55.000 --> 00:21:59.999
They can at least feed themselves.

00:22:00.000 --> 00:22:04.999
Rural Cuba is blessed
with abundant resources.

00:22:05.000 --> 00:22:09.999
The soil

00:22:10.000 --> 00:22:14.999
is relatively fertile and most of the
year, there is adequate rainfall.

00:22:15.000 --> 00:22:19.999
[music]

00:22:20.000 --> 00:22:24.999
In contrast to countries like Canada

00:22:25.000 --> 00:22:29.999
where farm communities are dying,
the special period has created

00:22:30.000 --> 00:22:34.999
a rural Renaissance in Cuba.

00:22:35.000 --> 00:22:39.999
This dairy farm

00:22:40.000 --> 00:22:44.999
is typical of livestock production after the
special period. The Cuban philosophy of farming

00:22:45.000 --> 00:22:49.999
has become the antithesis
of industrial agriculture.

00:22:50.000 --> 00:22:54.999
It’s based on the idea of finding
ways to work with nature

00:22:55.000 --> 00:22:59.999
rather than to control it.

00:23:00.000 --> 00:23:04.999
With livestock, this means, using
animals adapted to the environment

00:23:05.000 --> 00:23:09.999
rather than manipulating the
environment to suit animals.

00:23:10.000 --> 00:23:14.999
With cattles Cubans return

00:23:15.000 --> 00:23:19.999
to traditional tropical breeds. Local breeds
are much better adapted to the climate

00:23:20.000 --> 00:23:24.999
and have natural resistance
to pest and disease.

00:23:25.000 --> 00:23:29.999
The less productive as individuals,
these animals can be more efficient

00:23:30.000 --> 00:23:34.999
because they can harvest their own feeds.

00:23:35.000 --> 00:23:39.999
To produce milk, a cow needs protein.
Before the special period,

00:23:40.000 --> 00:23:44.999
these supplements had to be imported.
Cuban scientists

00:23:45.000 --> 00:23:49.999
had to find a way to replace
the imported protein.

00:23:50.000 --> 00:23:54.999
One innovation was grazing pedestals

00:23:55.000 --> 00:23:59.999
that combine grasses with legumes.
Legumes are a family of plant species

00:24:00.000 --> 00:24:04.999
that have a high amount of protein.

00:24:05.000 --> 00:24:09.999
Pedestals are triangle shaped
structures made out of fence.

00:24:10.000 --> 00:24:14.999
Legumes are planted inside the fence.

00:24:15.000 --> 00:24:19.999
The pedestals protect the plant from being
trampled but allow the cattle to graze

00:24:20.000 --> 00:24:24.999
on the protein rich leaves.

00:24:25.000 --> 00:24:29.999
The cattle are constantly moved
between different pasture areas

00:24:30.000 --> 00:24:34.999
to allow the plants to re-grow.
This rotational grazing

00:24:35.000 --> 00:24:39.999
has cut the cost of producing
a liter of milk in half.

00:24:40.000 --> 00:24:44.999
These pastures can last for years. So
there is also a significant saving

00:24:45.000 --> 00:24:49.999
in the cost of cultivating
and replanting crops.

00:24:50.000 --> 00:24:54.999
[music]

00:24:55.000 --> 00:24:59.999
Cuban scientists have found other
natural sources of protein.

00:25:00.000 --> 00:25:04.999
This is the experimental station of
grass lands and forages at (inaudible).

00:25:05.000 --> 00:25:09.999
Here agronomist have developed

00:25:10.000 --> 00:25:14.999
a grazing environment they call silver
pasture. It combines nutritious grasses

00:25:15.000 --> 00:25:19.999
and legumes with trees.

00:25:20.000 --> 00:25:24.999
[non-English narration]

00:25:25.000 --> 00:25:29.999
Ferraro (inaudible) is the
director of the station.

00:25:30.000 --> 00:25:34.999
This is an area with a lot of native
grasses below and trees on top.

00:25:35.000 --> 00:25:39.999
The trees have within their leaves
20 to 25% and even 30% protein

00:25:40.000 --> 00:25:44.999
depending on what species you use.

00:25:45.000 --> 00:25:49.999
When they are given to animals, you can get

00:25:50.000 --> 00:25:54.999
10 to 15 liters of milk per animal without
having to use protein supplements.

00:25:55.000 --> 00:25:59.999
You can get 4000 to 5000 liters per hectare
in a single year which is a high yield.

00:26:00.000 --> 00:26:04.999
[music]

00:26:05.000 --> 00:26:09.999
Cuba’s economic crisis

00:26:10.000 --> 00:26:14.999
was at its core an energy crisis.
Cubans had to find ways

00:26:15.000 --> 00:26:19.999
to replace massive energy inputs
consumed by industrial agriculture.

00:26:20.000 --> 00:26:24.999
After two generations

00:26:25.000 --> 00:26:29.999
of mechanization, almost all
these skills had disappeared.

00:26:30.000 --> 00:26:34.999
The experience of elderly
farmers became invaluable.

00:26:35.000 --> 00:26:39.999
The government send them across the country

00:26:40.000 --> 00:26:44.999
to teach a new generation
to work with animals.

00:26:45.000 --> 00:26:49.999
Oxen don’t compact the soil like
heavy machines. As a result,

00:26:50.000 --> 00:26:54.999
soil fertility is improved.
Oxen can go into the field

00:26:55.000 --> 00:26:59.999
when it’s too wet for tractors. The government
strictly regulates the slaughter of cattle

00:27:00.000 --> 00:27:04.999
to build up the number of oxen.

00:27:05.000 --> 00:27:13.000
[sil.]

00:27:15.000 --> 00:27:19.999
The province of (inaudible)
is in western Cuba.

00:27:20.000 --> 00:27:24.999
It’s a mountain region with
a primarily rural economy.

00:27:25.000 --> 00:27:29.999
It was people from the poorest regions like
Pinar Del Rio who were the first supporters

00:27:30.000 --> 00:27:34.999
of the revolution. In the beginning,

00:27:35.000 --> 00:27:39.999
the Cuban revolution was a rural rebellion.
When Castro and a small band of rebels

00:27:40.000 --> 00:27:44.999
landed in Cuba, they
fled into the mountains.

00:27:45.000 --> 00:27:49.999
The soldiers

00:27:50.000 --> 00:27:54.999
were supported by many of the local peasants,
the poorest people in the country.

00:27:55.000 --> 00:27:59.999
They supplied Castro’s fighters with
food and acted as guides and couriers.

00:28:00.000 --> 00:28:04.999
Many joined and took up arms.

00:28:05.000 --> 00:28:09.999
[music]

00:28:10.000 --> 00:28:14.999
Augustine Navaro(ph)

00:28:15.000 --> 00:28:19.999
lives on a small farm in a
narrow mountain valley.

00:28:20.000 --> 00:28:24.999
He was a boy at the time of the revolution.
He remembers the brutality

00:28:25.000 --> 00:28:29.999
of the batista dictatorship.

00:28:30.000 --> 00:28:34.999
I can remember some things from before the I triumph of the
revolution. I remember the guards who scared the farmers.

00:28:35.000 --> 00:28:39.999
Seeing a guard was like seeing the devil
himself. There was immense terror.

00:28:40.000 --> 00:28:44.999
Augustine was born and
grew up on this farm.

00:28:45.000 --> 00:28:49.999
His family was poor and the work difficult.

00:28:50.000 --> 00:28:54.999
Like many young people in the countryside
he left the farm after the revolution.

00:28:55.000 --> 00:28:59.999
There was no need for individuals to
farm because after the revolution,

00:29:00.000 --> 00:29:04.999
the government gave them all they needed
to live. When he finished school,

00:29:05.000 --> 00:29:09.999
Augustine served in the Cuban army.
After his discharge,

00:29:10.000 --> 00:29:14.999
he worked in a variety of government jobs.
The special period

00:29:15.000 --> 00:29:19.999
dramatically changed his standard of
living. He’s gone back to a way of life

00:29:20.000 --> 00:29:24.999
that had sustained generations but in
much of the world has disappeared.

00:29:25.000 --> 00:29:29.999
Augustine returned to the
ways of the campacinos,

00:29:30.000 --> 00:29:34.999
small mixed farmers.

00:29:35.000 --> 00:29:39.999
It was not simply a matter of starting
to farm again. There was virtually

00:29:40.000 --> 00:29:44.999
no money to buy the inputs of industrial
agriculture. They had to revisit

00:29:45.000 --> 00:29:49.999
traditional methods and in some cases
invent new ways of growing food.

00:29:50.000 --> 00:29:54.999
Tobacco was one of the few crops

00:29:55.000 --> 00:29:59.999
Cuba could grow to bring in foreign
exchange. To encourage production,

00:30:00.000 --> 00:30:04.999
the government offered campacinos
land and use to grow tobacco.

00:30:05.000 --> 00:30:09.999
Augustine saw this as an opportunity
to start farming again.

00:30:10.000 --> 00:30:14.999
[sil.]

00:30:15.000 --> 00:30:19.999
Though he loses money growing tobacco for
the state, it gives him the opportunity

00:30:20.000 --> 00:30:24.999
to use some of the land for other purposes.
He really supports his family

00:30:25.000 --> 00:30:29.999
by raising pigs. To raise pigs,

00:30:30.000 --> 00:30:34.999
Augustine needed to be able to grow nearly all
the animals feed because there was no money

00:30:35.000 --> 00:30:39.999
to buy it. He’s one of many farmers who
have been helped by a seed project

00:30:40.000 --> 00:30:44.999
run by scientists (inaudible)

00:30:45.000 --> 00:30:49.999
is an agronomist who
specializes in plant genetics.

00:30:50.000 --> 00:30:54.999
At the beginning of the special period,
he was just beginning his PhD.

00:30:55.000 --> 00:30:59.999
His research project was to develop
plant species better suited

00:31:00.000 --> 00:31:04.999
to Cuban environmental conditions. The
economic crisis meant there was no money

00:31:05.000 --> 00:31:09.999
within government facilities for his
research. Determined to pursue his project,

00:31:10.000 --> 00:31:14.999
he reluctantly turned
to the peasant farmers.

00:31:15.000 --> 00:31:19.999
He asked the farmers to grow test plots

00:31:20.000 --> 00:31:24.999
of his seeds for him. Over time,
would begin out of necessity,

00:31:25.000 --> 00:31:29.999
became an innovative and
productive partnership.

00:31:30.000 --> 00:31:34.999
He’s a very common farmer.

00:31:35.000 --> 00:31:39.999
[non-English narration]

00:31:40.000 --> 00:31:44.999
I didn’t believe that developing a
collaboration between scientists and farmers

00:31:45.000 --> 00:31:49.999
would yield much benefit. I simply
didn’t believe it would work.

00:31:50.000 --> 00:31:54.999
But the facts have shown
that it is really possible.

00:31:55.000 --> 00:31:59.999
Today, we are producing

00:32:00.000 --> 00:32:04.999
twice the amount of food
with less agro chemicals.

00:32:05.000 --> 00:32:09.999
This achievement has been the most
important of all these years.

00:32:10.000 --> 00:32:14.999
The farmers help identify and propagate seeds
of a variety of plants naturally adapted

00:32:15.000 --> 00:32:19.999
to Cuban conditions. This is the
opposite of industrial farming practices

00:32:20.000 --> 00:32:24.999
where there is little species
diversity and chemicals

00:32:25.000 --> 00:32:29.999
are used to protect the plants.
Doing this they can support

00:32:30.000 --> 00:32:34.999
and improve their environment. They can
also improve the crop production system.

00:32:35.000 --> 00:32:39.999
We started by improving specific
crops but we’ve realized

00:32:40.000 --> 00:32:44.999
the most important aspect
is to improve the system.

00:32:45.000 --> 00:32:49.999
From an economic point of view, this has given people
greater incomes and from a social point of view,

00:32:50.000 --> 00:32:54.999
it has created a community movement.
Hemberto(ph) calls his movement

00:32:55.000 --> 00:32:59.999
participatory seed diffusion.
It is grown from three groups

00:33:00.000 --> 00:33:04.999
in Pinar Del Rio into a national program.

00:33:05.000 --> 00:33:09.999
The goal is to return
biodiversity to farming.

00:33:10.000 --> 00:33:14.999
When the farmers find a strain within a species
that is well adapted, they propagate it

00:33:15.000 --> 00:33:19.999
and trade the seeds among themselves
for others to try on their farm.

00:33:20.000 --> 00:33:24.999
The variety of gene variations
is a vital resource.

00:33:25.000 --> 00:33:29.999
[sil.]

00:33:30.000 --> 00:33:34.999
To feed his pigs Augustine grows

00:33:35.000 --> 00:33:39.999
the traditional native varieties of corn
rather than the expensive hybrids grown

00:33:40.000 --> 00:33:44.999
in industrialized countries. He also grows
some of the different varieties of beans

00:33:45.000 --> 00:33:49.999
that have been propagated by
members of the seed group project.

00:33:50.000 --> 00:33:54.999
The fact that Cuban farmers have access to
a variety of plant species they can grow

00:33:55.000 --> 00:33:59.999
and reuse freely is another
stark contract to agriculture

00:34:00.000 --> 00:34:04.999
in industrialized countries.

00:34:05.000 --> 00:34:09.999
In the first world, a large
portion of plant genes

00:34:10.000 --> 00:34:14.999
used in agriculture is patented
by corporations who charge

00:34:15.000 --> 00:34:19.999
for the use of the seeds.

00:34:20.000 --> 00:34:24.999
[music]

00:34:25.000 --> 00:34:29.999
Cuba’s communist politicians
would prefer these images

00:34:30.000 --> 00:34:34.999
of rusting machinery and abandoned sugar
mills not be seen. Without soviet subsidies,

00:34:35.000 --> 00:34:39.999
the communist collective
farm economy collapsed.

00:34:40.000 --> 00:34:44.999
At this collective sugar
farm, the mill is closed.

00:34:45.000 --> 00:34:49.999
Without expensive inputs,
the farm couldn’t function.

00:34:50.000 --> 00:34:54.999
The special period forced
Cuba to create opportunities

00:34:55.000 --> 00:34:59.999
for rural entrepreneurs. (inaudible)

00:35:00.000 --> 00:35:04.999
is one of the new type of Cuban farm.

00:35:05.000 --> 00:35:09.999
The land was part of a
collective cattle ranch.

00:35:10.000 --> 00:35:14.999
At the beginning of the special period, the
state started to break up collective farms

00:35:15.000 --> 00:35:19.999
and give the land and
use to former workers.

00:35:20.000 --> 00:35:24.999
(inaudible)

00:35:25.000 --> 00:35:29.999
is part owner and administrator of the farm.
He and his brother-in-law Felix Gonzales

00:35:30.000 --> 00:35:34.999
have built a highly productive
and profitable operation.

00:35:35.000 --> 00:35:39.999
Like almost all of Cuba’s new
agriculture, Valverdi(ph)

00:35:40.000 --> 00:35:44.999
is a mixed farm it produces more than
20 different crops. This reduces risk

00:35:45.000 --> 00:35:49.999
and most important allows
the recycling of nutrients.

00:35:50.000 --> 00:35:54.999
Valverdi is part of a Cuban farm organization
structure called a cooperate of credit

00:35:55.000 --> 00:35:59.999
and services or CCS. The co-op

00:36:00.000 --> 00:36:04.999
gives the farmers tremendous
financial leverage.

00:36:05.000 --> 00:36:09.999
All the money for everything sold by the
cooperative, everything goes to the CCS.

00:36:10.000 --> 00:36:14.999
Then the manager pay the
individual farmers.

00:36:15.000 --> 00:36:19.999
The manager looks after all the selling.

00:36:20.000 --> 00:36:24.999
Then there is another manager who
administers all the workers.

00:36:25.000 --> 00:36:29.999
Valverdi usually has about 25 workers.

00:36:30.000 --> 00:36:34.999
They are all employees of the cooperative.

00:36:35.000 --> 00:36:39.999
They get paid vacation
like any other worker.

00:36:40.000 --> 00:36:44.999
But we provide more incentive by
giving them a share in the crop.

00:36:45.000 --> 00:36:49.999
So they have salary plus incentives
and this motivates them to work

00:36:50.000 --> 00:36:54.999
with more determination and
production is much higher.

00:36:55.000 --> 00:36:59.999
Unlike the urban gardens,

00:37:00.000 --> 00:37:04.999
Valverdi is required to sell some production
to the state. But production beyond the quota

00:37:05.000 --> 00:37:09.999
can be sold on the open market and
Valverdi produces well beyond its quota.

00:37:10.000 --> 00:37:14.999
In Cuba, there are no
middleman or wholesalers.

00:37:15.000 --> 00:37:19.999
Felix Anario(ph) get most of the money
consumers pay for their products.

00:37:20.000 --> 00:37:24.999
Canadian farmers only get a tiny fraction.

00:37:25.000 --> 00:37:29.999
The cooperatives give Cuban farmers a powerful
advantage in both selling and buying.

00:37:30.000 --> 00:37:34.999
Many Cubans view farming
as a desirable occupation.

00:37:35.000 --> 00:37:39.999
In contrast to developed countries the
number of Cuban farmers is growing.

00:37:40.000 --> 00:37:44.999
It’s difficult work

00:37:45.000 --> 00:37:49.999
the field work. It’s in the sun but it’s
something very humble and very natural.

00:37:50.000 --> 00:37:54.999
However if there is profit from the work,

00:37:55.000 --> 00:37:59.999
from the time in the sun,
then people will grow food.

00:38:00.000 --> 00:38:04.999
It’s difficult to work the ground but we’re
glad to do it because we’re making a profit.

00:38:05.000 --> 00:38:09.999
[sil.]

00:38:10.000 --> 00:38:14.999
In less than a decade

00:38:15.000 --> 00:38:19.999
Cuba had developed a way to feed the people
that consumes as little as 5% of the energy

00:38:20.000 --> 00:38:24.999
used by northern countries. The special
period was a crisis created by politics.

00:38:25.000 --> 00:38:29.999
The U.S. embargo meant that Cuba

00:38:30.000 --> 00:38:34.999
had no choice. It had to undergo
a radical transformation.

00:38:35.000 --> 00:38:39.999
But if Cuba is invited back into the international
fold, will the new sustainable agriculture continue?

00:38:40.000 --> 00:38:44.999
[sil.]

00:38:45.000 --> 00:38:49.999
Because the economy has improved,
farmers like Felix Anario(ph)

00:38:50.000 --> 00:38:54.999
have some access to machinery. Fuel
and some chemicals are available.

00:38:55.000 --> 00:38:59.999
At Valverdi, they do use chemical
pesticides but only they say

00:39:00.000 --> 00:39:04.999
as a last resort. Despite access
to machines and chemicals,

00:39:05.000 --> 00:39:09.999
Ario remains committed
to sustainable farming.

00:39:10.000 --> 00:39:14.999
I think these practices have been developed
and are going to remain forever.

00:39:15.000 --> 00:39:19.999
They are going to keep on
working with these concepts

00:39:20.000 --> 00:39:24.999
and if we had access to artificial inputs again, I
don’t think we would return to this kind of farming,

00:39:25.000 --> 00:39:29.999
consumptive farming and big technology. But
we are doing works, doing more with less.

00:39:30.000 --> 00:39:34.999
La Plaza De La Revolucione

00:39:35.000 --> 00:39:39.999
in Havana celebrates Cuba’s revolution.

00:39:40.000 --> 00:39:44.999
The propaganda billboard suggests,
we are on the right track.

00:39:45.000 --> 00:39:49.999
[music]

00:39:50.000 --> 00:39:54.999
Fidel Castro

00:39:55.000 --> 00:39:59.999
is an aging rebel.

00:40:00.000 --> 00:40:04.999
There are persistent rumors about his failing health
and speculation about what political direction

00:40:05.000 --> 00:40:09.999
Cuba will take when released
from his tight fisted control.

00:40:10.000 --> 00:40:14.999
[non-English narration]

00:40:15.000 --> 00:40:19.999
Despite the warmth of the Cuban people,

00:40:20.000 --> 00:40:24.999
Cuba is a police state. There is a visible

00:40:25.000 --> 00:40:29.999
and invisible police presence
especially in the city.

00:40:30.000 --> 00:40:34.999
For a country its size,
Cuba has a large army.

00:40:35.000 --> 00:40:39.999
There is no press freedom.

00:40:40.000 --> 00:40:44.999
Complaining about government is tolerated
but criticizing the government is not.

00:40:45.000 --> 00:40:49.999
Vocal dissidence are
often forced into exile.

00:40:50.000 --> 00:40:54.999
Neighborhoods have citizens groups

00:40:55.000 --> 00:40:59.999
called committees for the defense of the revolution
to report suspicious activities to authorities.

00:41:00.000 --> 00:41:04.999
[music]

00:41:05.000 --> 00:41:09.999
International human rights groups have long
complained about political prisoners in Cuba.

00:41:10.000 --> 00:41:14.999
Allowing even a limited
free market for food

00:41:15.000 --> 00:41:19.999
has changed Cuban society and the economy.

00:41:20.000 --> 00:41:24.999
Despite its own embargo, the United
States exports food to Cuba.

00:41:25.000 --> 00:41:29.999
Several hundred million dollars
worth in recent years.

00:41:30.000 --> 00:41:34.999
In the 1990s,

00:41:35.000 --> 00:41:39.999
Cuba was reopened for commercial tourism.
Rich foreigners spent billions of dollars

00:41:40.000 --> 00:41:44.999
a year in Cuba. With millions of wealthy
tourists visiting the country annually,

00:41:45.000 --> 00:41:49.999
petty crime, corruption and
prostitution have increased.

00:41:50.000 --> 00:41:54.999
A political alliance

00:41:55.000 --> 00:41:59.999
with oil rich Venezuela has
increased fuel supplies.

00:42:00.000 --> 00:42:04.999
Cuba trades the services of doctors,
teachers and scientists for oil.

00:42:05.000 --> 00:42:09.999
The legacy of Cuba’s
agricultural revolution

00:42:10.000 --> 00:42:14.999
like Castro’s revolution
will be left to history.

00:42:15.000 --> 00:42:19.999
But Cuba’s experiences prove
sustainable alternatives do exist.

00:42:20.000 --> 00:42:24.999
It started

00:42:25.000 --> 00:42:29.999
from a very difficult social
and economic condition.

00:42:30.000 --> 00:42:34.999
But necessity is the mother of invention.

00:42:35.000 --> 00:42:39.999
It’s taught us an alternative, how to produce
more food with less chemicals and fuel.

00:42:40.000 --> 00:42:44.999
These are inputs that cannot be renewed.

00:42:45.000 --> 00:42:49.999
That is why this type of farming

00:42:50.000 --> 00:42:54.999
and the challenges we face are not
exclusively for Third World countries

00:42:55.000 --> 00:42:59.999
or the conditions of Cuba.

00:43:00.000 --> 00:43:08.000
[music]

00:43:25.000 --> 00:43:29.999
To purchase a transcript of tonight’s
episode of the nation of things,

00:43:30.000 --> 00:43:35.000
email us at tnon@toronto.cbc.ca.

00:44:45.000 --> 00:44:50.000
[sil.]