[permaculture-oceania] DVD on Cuban Permaculture

[Russ Grayson]

Hi Duroyan...
Thanks for your comments below, about Cuba.

I find difficulty in accepting your comment that  the "dictatorship" in cuba
isn't one at all - "Cuba has the  most democratic system of government i
have reserched or experienced," you write.

My concern about the Cuban government in really focussed on their attitude
to media freedom. There's more on this at Reporters Without Borders:
http://www.rsf.org

On 3/9/06 9:43 PM, "Duroyan Fertl" <duroyan at yahoo.com.au> wrote:

>   The doco is quite neutral (it doesn;t really mention socialism in cuba,  or
> the government at all). The fact is however, that many of the people
> interviewed and who play a central role in nurturing organics,  permaculture
> and alternative energy in cuba are (some of them leading)  members of the
> government. 

I don't think the issue is socialism at all, rather for me it's the
imprisonment of critics of the regime, especially media workers who have a
critical role in influencing public perceptions and attitudes. When a regime
of whatever politics cannot deal fairly and openly with criticism then there
is something wrong - and you only have to look at how Canberra deals with
criticism as an example of this.

The Cuban's engagement with local and organic food is to be welcomed, of
course, and I intend to see the film at the Permaculture North showing and,
if suitable, obtain a copy for showing to workshop groups.

Perhaps there is something in it that will provide clues about the dilemma
addressed by a number of organic food advocates in this country - the fact
that for people with low incomes organic foods are simply too expensive.
This is an issue that I was aware of earlier but that has been reinforced by
health workers active with Sydney's Food Fairness Alliance, a coalition of
community and health workers, one or two urban agriculture and community
sector advocates, two people from different churches and one or two from
local government and the Permaculture milieu.

Poverty, often exacerbated by government policy according to some with the
Alliance, infers that although local/organic food advocates should continue
to promote greater access to organic foods, however at the same time they
have to  recognise the continuing need for supermarkets and non-organics
because their decline would affect the nutritional health of those who
cannot afford organics.

We had a too-brief informal discussion on this at an Alliance meeting
recently. A community worker said that people in poverty were often blamed
for their condition - they lack a knowledge of home budgeting and of cooking
simple but nutritionally balanced meals, it is said. Yet, she said, there
have been programs to teach budgeting and cooking but these have not changed
the situation. So perhaps the problem has external sources too, in the
structure of the economy.

I wouldn't expect the Cuba video to provide anything useful on this but
perhaps - and those who have seen it could comment authoritatively on this -
it is of value in showing the potential of a local food industry based on
sustainable agricultural practice.

...Russ
 

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RUSS GRAYSON
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Australian City Farms & Community Gardens Network
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