Description

Directed by Jaime Kibben, Food First Books 1996

The Greening of Cuba profiles Cuban farmers and scientists working to reinvent a sustainable agriculture, based on ecological principles and local knowledge rather than imported agricultural inputs. In their quest for self sufficiency, Cubans combine time-tested traditional methods with cutting edge bio-technology.

When trade relations with the socialist bloc collapsed in 1990, Cuba lost 80 percent of its pesticide and fertilizer imports and half its petroleum–the mainstays of its highly industrialized agriculture. Challenged with growing food for 11 million in the face of the continuing US embargo, Cuba embarked on the largest conversion to organic farming ever attempted.

Told in the voices of the women and men–the campesino, researchers, and organic gardeners–who are leading the organic agriculture movement, The Greening of Cuba reminds us that developed and developing nations alike can choose a healthier environment and still feed their people.

In Spanish with English subtitles, 38 minutes.