[Pil-pc-oceania] backgrounders on the relocalisation of agriculture in Cuba

[David Arnold]

Yes, disturbing.  Thanks Andrew.  It is not so simple for us to 'do what the
Cubans did'.  North Korea with its poor soils and industrialised economy
sounds more like our situation, unfortunately.  And our social organisation
has a very long way to go to be able to respond as positively as the Cubans
have.

Don't despair.  Do get very positive and very focussed.

dave



On 07/02/2008, Terry Leahy <Terry.Leahy at newcastle.edu.au> wrote:
>
> Dear Permies,  Dale Alan Pfeiffer has also written a book on this which
> has more stuff in it than the two part article which I think would be
> two chapters of the book.  It is called "Eating Oil", is very short and
> very well written, not to mention totally disturbing,
>
> Terry
>
> >>> Andrew Leahy <alfski at gmail.com> Thursday, 7 February 2008 1:38 pm
> >>>
> Hello, with Roberto Perez visiting for APC'9 I thought i'd quickly
> send around some links that might provide useful as backgrounders on
> Cuba...
>
> Firstly, I've uploaded an 8.5minute segment from the BBC series
> "Around the World in 80 Gardens". This clip is from a longer piece in
> which UK garden-guru Monty Don visit's Havana and some of it's urban
> food growing areas. Has a great soundtrack too!
>
> http://video.google.com.au/videoplay?docid=6943836409188303615
>
> Secondly, here is a two-part article by Dale Allen Pfeiffer (From The
> Wilderness, 2003) which compares how Cuba and North Korea responded to
> their mid-90's energy crises. I've included a snippet from the
> concluding paragraphs. Apologies if they've been posted previously.
>
> Part 1: NORTH KOREA
> http://www.fromthewilderness.com/free/ww3/111703_korea_cuba_1.html
>
> "The painful experiences of North Korea point out that dealing with an
> energy crisis is not just a matter of finding an alternative mode of
> transportation, an alternative energy source, or a return to organic
> agriculture. We are talking about the collapse of a complex system, in
> this case a social system that evolved gradually from a
> labor-intensive agrarian society to a fossil fuel-supported
> industrial/ technological society. It simply is not possible to step
> back to an agrarian society all at once, or to take a leap forward
> into some unknown high-tech society. Complex systems change gradually,
> bit by bit. Faced with immediate change, a complex system tends to
> collapse."
>
> Part 2: CUBA
> http://www.fromthewilderness.com/free/ww3/120103_korea_2.html
>
> "As declining fossil fuel production impacts civilization, Cuba may
> find itself in a position to help lead the world into sustainable
> agriculture. Currently, few countries are willing to invest in human
> capital and infrastructure the way that Cuba has, but hopefully this
> will change in the years ahead.
>
> Resistance to Cuban-style agricultural reform would be particularly
> stiff in the United States. Agribusiness will not allow all of its
> holdings and power to be expropriated. Nor is the U.S. government
> interested in small farms and organic agriculture. The direction of
> U.S. agriculture is currently towards more advanced technology,
> greater fossil fuel dependency, and less sustainability. The ability
> of small farmers and urban gardens to turn a profit is effectively
> drowned out by the overproduction of agribusiness.
>
> However, now is the time for people to study agroecology (and
> permaculture as well), with an eye towards implementing this
> technology, once declining fossil fuel production sparks a crisis in
> industrial agriculture. Our survival will depend upon our ability to
> implement these ideas once the current technology has failed. The
> North Korean example shows that the alternative is unthinkable."
>
> Cheers, Andrew
> --
> Fact: To manufacture a 3 tonne car requires 50 tonnes of raw material.
> Fact: In your lifetime you will eat 50 tonnes of food and produce 3
> tonnes of poo :)
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-- 
David Arnold
Permaculture Designer
4446 Murchison Rd
Violet Town VIC AUS 3669
03 5798 1679
arnold.vt at gmail.com
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