I’d like to share with you one of the inspirations for Frijolito Farm.
When the Soviet Union collapsed, Cuba suddenly found itself without a buyer for its sugar and, more importantly, without a supplier of oil and most other necessities. They were without food, tractor fuel, pesticides, and fertilizers. In an instant, Cuba’s modern industrial system of agriculture collapsed with the Berlin wall.
Of course, that could never happen here. Cuba was relying on a global superpower to supply its oil. We, on the other hand, get our oil from such politically stable, loyal allies as the Middle East, Mexico, and Venezuela.
Cuba euphemistically refers to this post-Soviet time of adjustment as the “Special Period.” That’s a politically expedient way of saying they had to rebuild their entire economy from the ground up while trying not to starve. One of the most successful strategies for doing this was the creation of organopónicos. In cities, where the eaters and workers were, they built long, raised garden beds out of concrete blocks in open lots. They filled these with compostable waste and worms until the beds were filled with rich vermicompost. Then, they planted food. By necessity, these operations were completely organic, not by preference, but simply because the chemical inputs were not available.
In addition to these state-run programs, the Cuban government also encouraged people to garden wherever they could. They made public lands available for free to anyone who wanted to grow food there. Notably, the communist government even allowed these private gardeners to sell their produce and keep at least part of the earnings. The program was so successful that officials started restricting the program, fearing that they were creating a new, wealthy, privileged class of urban farmer-entrepreneurs.
Of course, Ohio doesn’t have Cuba’s climate, but the basic idea is the same: put unproductive land to use growing food where the eaters are.
Probably the most famous organopónicos are in Cienfuegos, but here’s a video where the BBC explores urban farming in Havana, the nation’s capitol.
