Agricultural Sustainability in Cuba

Cuba is changing. While there is still limited access to resources like food and other amenities, some regulations are loosening and many see promise in the future.

This project explores life on a sustainable farm in Havana where workers' yearly wages are higher than those of government employees. Organoponico Vivero Alamar is an urban, sustainable, organic farm that feeds a significant portion of its surrounding community.

How does this model work, and is it possible to replicate it in other parts of the world where farming is a dying business? Kassondra Cloos and Rachel Southmayd focus on Organoponico Vivero Alamar while also observing daily life in the country that has been cut off from much of the world for decades.

Stories

February 14, 2013 | Pulitzer Center

Double Currency Causes Headaches for Cubans

Kassondra Cloos, for the Pulitzer Center

One for locals and the other for tourists--that's how Cuba's two currencies are often described. But it's more complicated than that.

February 11, 2013 | Pulitzer Center

A Look at Life in Havana

Kassondra Cloos and Rachel Southmayd, for the Pulitzer Center

In Havana, classic antique cars shine brightly in front of decrepit buildings.

February 08, 2013 | Pulitzer Center

Cuba: "Next Time You Come to Havana, You Stay With Me"

Rachel Southmayd, for the Pulitzer Center

In Cuba, people talk fast but they embrace outsiders even faster, both figuratively and literally. After all, they’re not in a hurry to do much else.

February 05, 2013 | Pulitzer Center

Mexican Visitor Hopes To Bring Home Cooperative Model

Kassondra Cloos, for the Pulitzer Center

After studying for two weeks at Organoponico Vivero Alamar, an organic cooperative farm in Cuba, Alejandro Rivera, a dentist from Mexico, hopes to start a similar cooperative at home.

Organic Agriculture and Cooperative Farming in Cuba