0 ITEMS IN CART 
LA FINCA - JBG VISITS CUBA
09/11/15 — Farm
When the United States, amidst communist fears, instituted its trade embargo against Cuba in 1960, the country relied on the Soviet Union as its trading partner. When the Iron Curtain fell, however, and the Soviet Union dissolved, Cuba lost access to much of the machinery and pesticides it had depended upon. Despite this, the country met the economic and agricultural turmoil head on and in the end emerged as one of the world’s leaders in efficient and organic farming.
While photographing and studying DIY (Do It Yourself) culture in Cuba, I visited farms across the western half of the island meeting farmers and learning about their (amazing) solutions to these resource shortages. Having James along for the ride allowed for some fantastic cultural exchange and great conversation about – you guessed it – vegetables. We left a little piece of JBG with each of these farmers and returned with a wealth of knowledge and some great memories. Here are a few of our favorites:
This is Tony, who helps run his family-owned farm, Finca Acroecologica El Paraíso. Using biofertilizers, produced by insects and animals like geese and rabbits, the finca generates enough vegetables and fruits to feed Tony and his wife, Rachel, their large family, and the flow of visitors that comes to the on-site restaurant for lunch and dinner daily.
When I first visited the finca, I gave this JBG bag to Rachel, who operates the restaurant. James was wearing his JBG shirt when we returned, and she immediately recognized it. Before serving us one of our best meals in Cuba, Rachel ran to the back to show us that she is still proudly toting the bag around Viñales.
This is Esteban, a young campesino in the Valle de Viñales, who lives on his family farm and works both tending to the land and taking care of the horses. The Valle de Viñales is “off-the-grid” and instead operates on solar energy. Many farmers like Esteban have houses outfitted with solar panels.
Esteban lights a cigar, homemade with local tobacco. Viñales is located in the Pinar del Río province, which is known for its tobacco, growing 70 percent of Cuba’s much-coveted crop. Almost all of the tobacco grown in Cuba is organic.
It’s important to stay hydrated in Cuba’s almost unbearable heat (especially in August!) so Esteban scaled a tree and before we knew it, we were all sipping fresh coconut water. Baracoa, a town in eastern Cuba, is considered the coconut capital, but we were plenty happy with these fruits from the west.
Meet El Negro, a self-sustaining farmer who lives deep in the Valle de Viñales harvesting fruits, vegetables, and coffee among other things. El Negro stands in front of his newly built house, which he constructed with his own two hands and the help of some neighbors.
One of El Negro’s largest crops is yuca (or cassava). Photographed here, El Negro has just harvested young yuca. Generally, this root is not harvested until a year or so after planting. El Negro and Esteban return to El Negro’s house from a visit to the fields to check on the crops. With fertile soil and the right climate, the Valle de Viñales is a rich agricultural area, growing everything from tobacco to bananas and beans.
After buying some mangoes from this kind man in the Valle de los Ingenios outside of Trinidad, he invited me to share some fruit with his friends, all of whom grow their own food. They loved looking at the array of vegetables that JBG grows and comparing their harvests.
For fun, I have also added a picture of this young boy in the streets of Habana Vieja. We gave him and his friends JBG stickers. They asked about the meaning of “JBG” and then ran around holding their stickers up in victory.
Thanks so much for sharing your adventure, Molly and James! Molly Mandell is currently a student at the University of Texas performing independent research for her thesis in the department of American Studies. You can see more at www.mollymandell.com. Hope you enjoyed her photos as much as we did!
