This sums it up

I was reading today and this quote caught my eye. It basically sums up what my research is all about. Michael Pollan is the author of several food related books and I admire his holistic take on the problems of the western diet and the world's focus on 'Nutrition-ism'.

This quote is from 'In Defence of Food' (Penguin Books, 2008):

"...I no longer think it is possible to separate our bodily health from the health of the environment from which we eat or the environment in which we eat or, for that matter, from the health of our general outlook about food (and health). If my explorations of the food chain have taught me anything, it's that it is a food chain, and all the links in it are in fact linked: the health of the soil to the health of the food culture in which we eat them to the health of the eater, in body as well as mind.

He goes on to say:

"Food consists not just of piles of chemicals; it also compromises a set of social and ecological relationships, reaching back to the land and outward to other people."

I couldn't have said it better myself!

The interest to me, as a designer, are those connections that tie it all together and how to design for them (or with them if they are existing).

Anyway, I highly recommend the book as well as Omnivores Dilemma and The Botany of Desire (although not as food related, it is a great read).

SEDA Event at Strathclyde Uni

This just in, hot of the SEDA presses. Please come along, especially if you missed Roberto in Dundee. I won't claim to be nearly as good as him, but given the lineup for the evening, it will be worth it.

MAKING SPACE FOR PEOPLE AND FOOD:

meeting the challenge of climate change and resolving conflicts over land


Wed 29 Oct at 5.30 pm for 6.00 start
Lecture Theatre G4, Department of Architecture
Strathclyde University

The talks this evening will show how different communities in Cuba and the UK have come up with their own solutions to the need to create and use space to good effect and in less energy-intensive ways. We will hear about enlightened approaches which resolve contradictions between the desire for green space and the demand for development and shelter; and the need to produce food with fewer demands on resources and on the energy used.

The evening will start with the announcement of this year’s winner of the Krystyna Johnson Student Travel Award: James Henderson, graduate in building design engineering at Strathclyde University, who is researching the viability of introducing Brettstapel timber construction into Scotland, and will use his award to visit Austria, Switzerland and Germany to learn more about the manufacturing processes involved.

Growing Power: Cuba, post peak oil urban agriculture & use of green space - last year’s winner, Steve Brogan from the Centre of Natural Design, Dundee University, will be giving a presentation on his study of successful responses to Cuba’s need to create a low-energy, self-sufficient and sustainable society following their loss of access to oil and the crumbling of the socialist trade bloc in 1990. The presentation will focus on their development of permaculture as a means to transform food production - especially in urban areas where Havana, for example, now produces 60% of it's food requirements from within the city limits. Steve’s trip to Cuba was funded by the 2007 Student Travel Award.

Plotting the Future - Chris Coates is a green builder and author of “Utopia Britannica”, on the Offshoots project, Burnley a UK project with which he was involved and which combines many of the issues that Steve will be discussing - exemplifying community engagement in food production as well as the use of natural materials and alternative energy use in the provision of buildings.

Edinburgh Havana Initiative - looking at Architecture and Planning questions common to both Edinburgh and Havana, architect and SEDA member Ian Parson will focus on the experiences of both places as World Heritage Cities and look at how they can exchange ideas and innovations and reduce their carbon emissions - from the provision and repair of buildings to the innovative use of green space.

There will be opportunities for questions and the talks will be followed by wine and nibbles and the chance to meet and chat. The evening will close at 9pm.

For more information and to book your place please contact Mary Kelly mary@segalselfbuild.co.uk. Visitors welcome.

You can download a programme from the SEDA web site: http://www.seda2.org/future/future.htm

Roberto Perez in Dundee!

Hi Everyone, here are the official details on Roberto's talk at Dundee Uni:

Roberto Perez
The Dalhousie Building, Old Hawkhill, University of Dundee
Saturday 27th September - 6pm
Drinks reception to follow

When Cuba lost access to Soviet oil, fertilizers, and export trade market in the early 1990s, the country faced virtual overnight economic collapse and an immediate crisis - feeding the population.

The story of how Cuba successfully developed permaculture in response to this crisis will be outlined in a thought-provoking lecture by renowned Cuban permaculturalist Roberto Perez in a major lecture at the University of Dundee.

Cuba has in the past 18 years transformed its food production using organic agriculture and Havana produces over 60% of its food requirements from within the city limits. The Cuban people’s hardship, ingenuity, and triumph over sudden adversity, through cooperation, conservation, and community, to create a low energy society is a truly inspirational story as evidenced in the documentary, The Power of Community in which Roberto features.

This lecture is being held in celebration of the University of Dundee being awarded Fair Trade Status earlier this summer.

The lecture is free and tickets can be obtained from the Tower Building Reception,

or from the online store at:
https://www.buyat.dundee.ac.uk/catalogue/products.asp?deptid=7&catID=&hasClicked=0

or by emailing: events@dundee.ac.uk

Hope to see you all there!

Cubans in Dundee

On Sunday I participated in the Big Tent Festival in Falkland, Fife. What an excellent event!

I had bit of a technical breakdown, so unfortunately my presentation was cut short, so I invited those present to check out my blog. Looks I need to finish the transcription of my handwritten diaries! Will have to do it this week.

Also, further to my Cuba trip, I have received word that Roberto Perez from FANJ will be coming to Dundee on Saturday the 27th of September! Venue information to follow.

I will also be giving a public lecture on Cuba, Food and Design with SEDA sometime in October.

a bit of new life for my blog

It seems like my blog has become like that proverbial telescope or remote control airplane that you got for Christmas when you were ten. So desireable when you opened it with dreams of becoming a great astronomer gazing at the stars on cool summer nights or impressing your friends with the coolness of flying a wee plane... By the time summer arrives with its biting insects and mini-aircraft-destroying winds, it seems that those ideals seem to find their way to basements and storage closets. I mean, who really becomes an astronomer or a pilot anyway? No one I have ever heard of, umm, wait... Well not too many people.

Now I have a reason to blog, at least for a short while.

Sandra, One of my colleagues here at Duncan of Jordanstone suggested to me a while back that I should start a blog on food related issues. I immediately thought about this blog, which has been languishing. So here we go.

I am going to start off this year's posts with my handwritten (yes, it is still done) and transcribed travel journal from my study trip to Cuba. I am going to backdate them from the actual day I wrote it and tag them with Cuba for SEDA members that might be visiting the site. Pictures to follow.

Cheers for now.

vilda

I was extremely pleased with my visit to Vilda's project. It is excellent in every respect. Once again we are thinking along the same lines in so many ways. I think that what she is doing could have a great application at Belmont. The official name is: The Community Project for Food Preservation of Condiments and Medicinal Plants has been running since 1991. Its main aim is to promote health through better preservation and preparation of food, this also includes growing food and nutritional plants. Vilda did postgraduate work at the Rowatt Institute in Aberdeen in 1966 (good old Abz).

The centre has a staff of just 3 people and receives no government money other than indirect support of the programmes and access to resources. One of the most important resources is the state-owned ratio and TV stations. Vilda and her husband Jose present regular TV and Radio shows. With this outreach they can contact many thousands of people. They have two small gardens on site which basically look like this:

[A hand drawing which you can't see here, sorry]

The layout isn't as critical as the work which is being done [see, told you it wasn't that important]. Vilda uses principles of Permaculture, but is not as concerned with the gardening aspect as with food preparation and storage (although seeing the gardens you might think otherwise, they are spectacular). Near the building a small area is used for upstanding pipes filled with soil and trickle irrigated. I think that this sort of system may work very well for Belmont, with rainwater collection systems on S facing walls near the buildings. The permaculture garden may be a good idea for the open area, with small buildings (straw?) to be used for demonstration, preparation and drying. [note to self cut out]

We only had an hour to talk but it was well worth the time. I bought several of her books, all in Spanish less one in English which was a partial translation of the original Spanish version. They are currently looking for a partner to help with translation and publication in English. I do believe Vilda is an excellent person to work with - she is a pillar of knowledge. Her work is very Cuba-specific, but i believe the approach maybe transferable. I will have to look for these types of 'canning' manuals in the UK. I know many of them exist in Nova Scotia, mostly from the 70s and 80s when there was an Extension HE system which existed as a branch of the NSDAM. Sadly, it is mostly all gone.

raining

It's raining today. A very rare event this time of year. I should've expected there'd be some colder weather to usher me back to Britain. In fact I am quite happy about it. The last few nights of 25 degree weather has made sleep quite unpleasant, if I slept at all.

A little rant about money.

So here are some equations:

In Cuba...

1 USD = 0.89 CUC
1 CAD = 1.14 CUC
1 GBP = 1.79 CUC

(where USD is US dollar, CAD is Canadian Dollar, GBP is UK Pound and CUC is Cuban Converable Peso)

Now on international markets...

1 USD = 0.98 CAD
1 CAD = 1 CAD
1 GBP = 2.03 CAD

Cuba blocks the use of US Dollars, for obvious reasons (thank you George W Juice). So if you use a USD you will get charged 10 cents on the dollar as a fine. Not a problem, I don't need US dollars. When I came here I was told to bring pounds. Why? I should have brought CAD because in fact CAD to CUC is favourable, in fact like 20% more valuable than the USD and like for like 15% more valuable than the pound.

Clearly the exchange rates here are based on the fact that almost all goods here come out of Canada so Fidel likes to stockpile CAD.

All of this seems reasonable, except for when you try to get money off your UK or Canadian credit card. You get charged a 10% fine. Why you might ask? Because the credit card magically turns your Canadian or British money in to American money THEN in to CUC.

Why? I am not sure as US banks do not operate in Cuba. Oh, but wait, they own the VISA name and force all international transactions to operate through their highly overvalued currency.

I can easily see why: a) the entire world hates America and b) why you would easily go bonkers living in Cuba because of such things and the heavy handed communist bureaucracy.

a leisurely day

I took a leisure day today with Julio and Dale. Early in the day I went to the 13th Street market. I didn't buy anything, but I did have a good look at what was being offered, which was EVERYTHING! There were mostly fruit and veg a good selection of meat being sold out of the boots of old cars. There were also goods such as children's clothes, pots and pans and some prepared food like fried chicken and sandwiches. The regular juice wagon was not in use but a few similar ones were were operating along the strip. This market takes place weekly and is governed by two main principles: buyer beware and first come, first serve. Sellers arrive to claim their spots early, about 4 am. Wise buyers arrive early to get their pick at about 7 am. Julio says after 9:30 am it gets too packed and the best produce is gone. The market ends at 3 pm and all the rubbish is cleared from the street by 5 pm. Each municipality in Havana has a similar market, with quality, quantity and price varying. These markets started spontaneously and eventually gained the blessing of the government. Stores here have rigid price controls and have a serious lack of variety. The markets have neither. It would appear to be a cradle of capitalism in a sea of socialism. I would say that this type of affair is where capitalism does shine over the rigid controls of socialism. The reason why it does work so well is that these 'players' are all very evenly matched and create a very stable and competitive market. I would suspect that there is room in the market for operations such as this in the UK, but it would need to be protected from predatory monopolies. I should note that there is a very different feeling from the farmers markets that we have in the UK. The target for these markets are much more expansive.

I think that what Roberto said makes good sense. There is always room in the market for urban agriculture, local markets, etc... I keep this in the back of my mind in the case of the Whitfield Shops back in Dundee. Here is a basically unused building, in an area that needs a market. The income level is below average. The people are bargain hunters. I think that a small market would do wonders for the economy of the other shops there. A 24-hour grocery or even a 24 hour newsagent would also be a good asset.

In the afternoon I checked my email at Dale and Lisa's, then we went to the Marnia Hemmingway. The same band that we (me and Julio) saw play last night was also playing tonight, 'Vertical Dimension'. Mostly covers of 1970s songs. They were better tonight. The atmosphere was much nicer as well. Open air so not as noisy and smokey. I should also write a wee bit on Paladars. These are 'small' restaurants located in personal homes. The two I have frequented are the 'Din-Don' and 'Bon Appitite'. Both are very good hand serve at a reasonable price. They are also from the 'Special Period'. Much like the market they started spontaneously and eventually gained the approval of the government. Even up until quite recently they were not allowed to advertise with a sign. Even know the 'Din Don' does not have a sign. They have excellent food probably because they rely strictly on word of mouth. Service is slow by UK standards, count on at least an hour and a half for a nice meal. Once again these operate within a system of state-controlled food outlets called Cafeterias. These cafeterias have mediocre food at fairly high prices - like most fast food places in the UK. They are however, quick. Paladars are licenced so hygiene standards are in place t a much greater extent than seen at the street markets [I will note in here I did watch the chef cook my meal with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth]. Once again we see the blending of commercial/residential in a very smooth manner. Often this type of footfall near a paladar gives the neighbourhood a lively character and the parking attendant/doorman adds a higher level of security to the neighbours for free.

Application of this practise in the UK would not be 'cut and paste', but it goes to strengthen the argument for mixed-use planning [and an argument against planning itself]. It also adds some 'spruce' to the local economic landscape, which seems to be increasingly bland. There are certainly parallels to be drawn with the bland state-controlled market of the pre-1990s Cuba [and the monopolised food market in the UK]. Two different political/economic systems suffering from similar problems of concentration of power and centralisation in the name of efficiencies.

Efficiencies of scale need to be re-though in terms of a sustainable economy. Efficiencies of networks may be a concept worth delving in to. In fact I need to look at this as another evaluative tool for my kit - regarding systems. there needs to be a way of measuring the interconnectedness of a system, but not just the number of connections but in what sense the units are connected. Parallels needs to be made with natural systems. Cells in an organism are nearly automatons but yet rely heavily on the network they are part of on both micro and macro levels. Something else to think about...

Destructive networks also exist. There needs to be differentiation. I would think that salutogenic systems are not destructive [at least not at macro level]. What is a pathogenic systems?

at FANJ again

Our meeting today was quite good as I discovered that, in essence, Roberto has been on the same track as us when it comes to design. He as been involved in FANJ since the early days. Likewise he also was at the airport when the first permaculture expert came from Australia in September of 1993. The Aussie's were invited as an 'educated' what to tackle the food and urban agriculture problem. For many years the programme was sponsored so training was free of charge. The group from FANJ absorbed as much as possible and now trains many others. To date they have trained more than 500 people in Permaculture techniques.

It should be mentioned that Permaculture has not been a cut-and-paste solution to th food problem, nor to and of the other associated problems. One example that Roberto gave me was of mulch. One of the permaculture long standing traditions is deep mulching. Early work here found that in a tropical climate the mulch started to break down so quickly that the N was actually being used up and made unavailable as it leached away and therefore was NEVER available. A good study of the workings showed that plant mulch would have to be extremely deep to be effective. So deep that plants would not be able to grown up through it. It was found that a simple thin layer of cardboard with holes punched through it for the plants to grow would actually work best. A solution that is not elegant, but yet very effective and making use of a excess cardboard. Roberto emphasized several times how PRINCIPLES are transferable, but exact solutions are not always.

One other topic that we spoke about was the status of Permaculture itself. For Roberto there is no question about its efficacy no its base principles, but it does often have its share of hippies and strange-os. Working in Cuba, Roberto was unaware of this bias. He applied for funding from OXFAM Canada to do work in another country (possibly Haiti). The OXFAM people balked at ths word Permaculture. They would be happy with Organic, Biodynamic, intensive, or urban, but they had done some independent checks on Permaculture and were scared off by some of the people who were associated with it. The movement in Canada is yet very small and I would imagine mostly made up of 'back to the landers' left over from the 1960s and 70s. Roberto pointed out that permaculture has had a very different status in Cuba, as association with established designers and planner from the very start. It was also a very urban and design associated craft, with the first rural project only starting just 3 years ago.

[Left out a bit here for privacy sake]

The details of Permaculture aside, there lies the big issue of DESIGN. Roberto called design the 3rd dimension that was missing and that Permaculture has helped fill this gap.

The special period magnified the existing un-sustainability in Cuban society. Resourcefulness began to close the gap but design was needed to see the picture. The 'Vertical Dimension' if you will (stolen from the cover band). One of the challenges that faces and frustrates designers is working with existing conditions. He says a major flaw with designers is the desire to start with a clean, white, sheet of paper or a well drained site with a nice south-facing view. Sometimes we have to deal with the 'ugly' remnants of past designers. Sometimes these are beautiful but painfully un-sustainable. Sometimes nature gives us a swamp or a productive apple orchard/onion field. One is easy to build on, but an important source of food, the other is hard to build on and an important wildlife area. Economics side with the cheap. Who knows what planners say? A designer needs to be able to look at the situation and ask some important questions. The first one might be 'Why?'. Can the development be done within existing structures? Why do brown fields exist?

ANYWAY... A few other good points Roberto touched on were how designers must be adaptive, especially in considering what is there. Also, as in sustainable, natural system, change is cumulative not dramatic. Dramatic change is usually a sign of instability.

viva la revolución, maybe

[Warning, this is a fairly political post. Visiting Cuba, it cannot be avoided.]

I decided to visit the museum of the revolution today. It is located in one of the lavish buildings of the Batista era. I thought it would provide a good context for my research, it has.

Having grown up in Canada during the winding down of the cold war, I was eager to hear the Cuban side of the story. Canadians are usually very sympathetic to the Cuban experience, both trying to forge our own way on the doorstep of the world's last standing superpower (both of us having aligned ourselves with 'competing' powers in the past, Canada with Britain and Cuba with the USSR). That being said, Canada, like most western democracies, is an unashamedly capitalist country, with some social democracy leanings (a thousand miles left of America and a couple hundred kilometres right of Sweden).

Not surprisingly the display in the museum was characteristic of what I would expect in Latin America. Due to poor English signage I went through the museum backwards. Starting with the Post-Revolution and building a Socialist Society then to the 1959 revolution and finishing up with a floor dedicated to Batista and prior revolutions, including the overthrow of Spanish rule and a small display showing the slave revolt and some interesting information on the indigenous peoples and the early colonial period.

The museum itself presents a very interesting aesthetic. The building is very 'bourgeois' (I imagine this is why it was abandoned), the old rooms are essentially left as they were... paint is peeling and flaking and all the old shuttered windows are open to a very 'naked' Havana. The displays house fascinating and some very moving relics, but have the feel of a small-town museum with cracked perspex boxes, and yellowed newspaper clippings. Some of the translations are also a little lacking. Despite those shortcomings you can see the touch of the 'people'. My feelings about Cuban Socialism are thus: At the time it was a reaction to a nasty oppressive regime. The socialist concept offered not only a way for the average person to get their 'dues' back from the capitalists, but a supposedly bright and equitable future. When the initial 'payback' was sorted, through a mass re-distribution of wealth, the people found themselves having still a very small share of the 'wealth'. Cuba today is probably more equitable than many other countries. Leaps and bounds beyond other Latin American countries. It is, however, missing the engine that generates 'wealth' (I use this term quite differently than pure economic growth). Maybe this is because it is an island of socialism in a sea of capitalism, or maybe the great socialist economists were wrong. We know that so many of their capitalists counterparts were. The system has seemed to curb some social ills like 'rampant want-itis'. People still acquire things, but they take greater care with what they have. There are, however, greater limits to what you can own here. You can, in theory, own up to a few acres of land, a decent house, the newest Nash Rambler, maybe even 4 Nash Ramblers... but cannot be a 'millionaire'. The system does not allow it, therefore the population adapts. I have not met anyone here who yearns for the same type of boundless power, fame and wealth. That isn't the driving force in Cuba. That isn't to say that people don't collect useless junk and aspirational goods. Believe me, there is a black market and it is saturated.

I consider values of popular representation and property rights to be central to the British way of life (and many other associated cultures). However, I feel that what these rights actually mean is a lot different than what people (esp popular opinion) think they mean. To own something in some sense, I think, really means means to exclude or control other's use of that thing. Under simple circumstances this makes sense. However, large corporations have skewed these rights to the point where ownership and control of most things has once again been put in the hands of a few. There are a lot of things wrong with society, but I suppose not enough wrong to want a revolution. One thing is certain, there is a great need for honesty and integrity.

The Americans' dealing with Cuba are a good example of 'ends justifying the means' tactics. [For an amusing look at this, check out this film.] The ends in the Americans' case were entirely selfish (although they'd clearly dispute that assertion). Today, in the museum, I saw some of their acts of terrorism toward Cuba. Releasing swine fever on pigs, tobacco viruses, leaf rot, assassination attempts, blowing up ships and aeroplanes, etc... Outright attacks to 'get back' at the Cubans for 'stealing' American property.

It is interesting how the Cubans have not bowed to American pressure in the last 50 years. It is likely that if the Americans had been a little less harsh initially, they could have used Cuba as a bridge to the Soviets, rather than building their own 'iron curtain' around the country. I mean, in the same 50 years they have extended their global business influence deep in to the Canadian economy, rigged the 1963 election, negotiated a free trade system gets turned off when it suits them and a laundry list of other minor atrocities. Lest I sound too negative, their copious capital has helped employ many a Canadian, but it always comes at a price, which is usually not in the favour of the 'client nation'.

I would assert that international relations in the future might be best based upon fair deals rather than thinly veiled self interest.

an interview with Roberto Perez the permaculturalist

I decided that it might be a good idea to come up with a few specific questions for Roberto Perez of FANJ. I know I have a habit of leading conversations off track a bit. We'll see how it goes! [As you will read, I did lead the conversation off quite a bit, Roberto and I stayed talking from 2pm until we were kicked out of the office at closing time].

To give a bit of background... Roberto Perez was trained as a biologist and came to work with FANJ very early on in his career. He was involved in the Cuban urban agriculture movement from its beginnings. In fact, he was at the airport when the first permaculture designers came from Australia in the early 1990s. He was taught permaculture design from the Australians (along with English and an Aussie accent which has since become diluted). Since then, he has helped design and build demonstration gardens throughout Havana and trained hundreds of others in Permaculture design methods. He has also travelled extensively (rare for a Cuban) to see similar projects in other countries, especially Canada. He did a Postgraduate Diploma at St. FX in Antigonish, just 2 hours from my home!

Here goes my preposed questions:

[I only transcribed notes of Roberto's responses, a transcript would be pages long.]

"As a designer from a different culture, different climate and different economy, what would you say are the most precious 'jems of knowledge' that I should take back with me? I will be presenting my findings to a groups of ecological designers."

FLEXABLE POLITICAL WILL

The biggest enabling factor for the success and eventual integration of the work was flexable political will. This is especially true when it comes to land-use policy. Support for sustainable food systems came direct from the top (Fidel) and laws were altered and practises adapted that suited the development of urban agriculture. Roberto noted that this type of change is not so easy in a capitalist system where land has, what he described as, 'different value'. A good example of this flexability is the clearing and cleaning of vacant lots in Havana. As is common in Britian, vacacnt city lots in Havana gathered rubbish and debris (especially in the 1980s). Masses of red tape and petty quarrels between neighbours often kept these lots in a state of dis-repair. Changes in policy allowed these lots to be cleared and used for gardens. Roberto says that in other countries this would probably never happen. In other countries we often see vacant lots gathering rubbish with chain link fences around them preventing any useful use! In Cuba land only has value related to its usefulness, rather than speculative value.


MARKET FLEXABILITY

The socialist collective supply market was just as rigid [perhaps even moreso] as western capitalist markets. The political will that allowed changes in how food was marketed in Cuba found this truth: 'there is always space in the market for a variety of services'. For instance, there are rules that prevent small allotment gardeners in Britian from selling their produce. These rules are meant to protect farmers, who make their only livelihood from selling food. Cuban officials feared failure of the large collective farms and state price controls by allowing an alternative market. In reality, the state supplied food still plays a large part in the Cuban diet and will continue to do so. [At this point I added the comment that TESCO or Sainsbury's has nothing to fear from market gardeners. They are well suited to adapt and by no means fill all the 'needs' of the market.] Market regulators need to adjust rules to scale. The many food safety and tracability laws do help protect us from poor quality food, but do not make sense applied to a small vendor selling bottles of home made jam.

FOOD INDUSTRY LABOUR MARKET

Working in food production in Cuba pays well. This attracts innovative, intelligent and industrious workers. This isn't the same in other countries for many reasons. In order for the system to be sustainable something needs to be done to change this.

PLANNING AND DESIGN OF PUBLIC SPACES

Designers and planners have to rethink public spaces, especially parks and green spaces. There exists an absurd distinction between ornimental and productive horticulture. Edible plants need to be given a greater emphasis in public areas. This is still forthcoming in Cuba and a current FANJ project is dealing with this. Standard architectural rendering show shrubs and trees outside buildings, sometimes even inside. Why not apple or pear trees, berry hedges?

PLANNING OF GARDEN SPACE

There are physical limits with plants and space. There are also relationships to efficiency and size, labour requirements and economic sense when it comes to gardens. This is what has been discovered in Havana. In order of least productive to most productive: Home Garden, Allotment, Collective, and Community. This is also connected to size. However, we must not simply interpret this as 'bigger is better'. There are appropriate uses for each. That being said, it must be understood that the scale of productivity is not completely linear. When thinking of planning, a collective garden that supplies 5 families is probably a little smaller in total size than 5 family sized allotments. Efficiencies are gained in the layout and sharing of things like shed space, which makes sense but actual productivity is much much higher than an allotment and labour requirements per person are lower. The problem then becomes a social one. Cubans have developed various and flexable social system to suit collectives. They are usually based simply on labour. All production is based on number of hours worked in the garden.

CHEAP, HEALTHY AND FRESH

Locally grown food is cheap, healthy and fresh. Probably the most important one is cheap, in Cuba the farmer's markets are much much cheaper than the supermarkets. It is also much fresher. Farmer's markets in northern countries are expensive and thus limit their market.

"In Britian we faced a food crisis from 1939 to well into the 1950s. As an island nation that was highly dependant on trade, the war had a dramatic impact on daily life and people's perceptions of food. This response, however, was seen more as a 'war measure' that was quickly abandoned than a long term solution. As Cuba emerged from the 'Special Period', what has made these measures, such as urban agriculture, become long term solutions?"

The answer is basically twofold:
-Political will... see answer from above.
-It makes economic sense, urban farmers in Cuba tap in to a very lucritive market economy earning more than they would doing other jobs.

I concluded my conversation with Roberto speaking about possible collaborations with my contacts in Scotland and arranged a second meeting as it was time to go.

first time at FANJ

I was able to have a brief meeting with Roberto Sanchez of FANJ. He operates the 'Programa de Desarrado Local Sustentable' (excuse my horrid transcription of the Spanish) or PRODUS. Roberto isn't quite as fluent in English as Miguel or Julio, but was quite good compared to the average Cuban.

I was able to buy a copy of his book, co-authored by Carrie Cruz, whom I also met and shook hands with but does not speak English. I was told Carrie has a wealth of experience and would be essential to speak with, if I wanted to learn even more about the programme. Once again... I really wish I spoke Spanish.

The book, entitled 'Agriculture in the City: A Key to Sustainability in Havana, Cuba" was published in English as it was part of an IDRC research project. [For my non-Canadian readers, IDRC is the International Development Research Centre, a Canadian Crown Corporation, owned and operated by the Crown (government). They aid research in developing countries to help people there apply technology appropriately.] I was able to purchase a copy of the book for just $5 CUC. It is a very good read.

The unfortunate part of our conversation was that I found out I could not actually visit many of the places I would like to see as my tourist visa restricted my access. In order to visit any 'official place of business' ie: anything that gets money from the Cuban state, I would need to have a research visa. Frusteratingly, this visa is not difficult to get, it just requires time, approximately 6-8 weeks. Had I known this, I would have made the appropriate preparations before I came.

I made arrangements to come back and meet Roberto Perez, an international programme co-ordinator with FANJ. Roberto Sanchez says he speaks much better English, although I could easily understand Roberto S!

meeting a Cuban architect

I was extremely please to meet Mr Miguel Coyula, architect. Having just returned from a meeting with him I will endeavour to summarise our converstaion whilst I prepare lunch.

I chanced to meet Miguel simply by showing up at the Havana City Model that his group developed. I felt bad that I wasn't able to call ahead for an appointment, but nevertheless I proceeded and it provided to be a most fruitful conversation, I'll summarise, topically, below.

LIVING CITIES OR CITIES TO LIVE IN?

Miguel showed me on the model how the city of Havana has developed over time. Different coloured buildings are shown based on their time of construction: Colonial (1500-1899), Pre-Revolution (1900-1958) and Revolution (1959-onwards). It is clear to see that most buildings in Havana are 1900-1958, when there was a building boom. The major influence on these buildings was the from private developers building for the market economy. Much of this development is analogous to American cities f that period and is quite functional to this day. The colonial-era buildings are everyone's favourite. They have an enduring functionality and beauty. The layout of these buildings are appropriate for the climate, built with narrow streets that provide shade and inner atriums that allow for ventilation. After the revolution there was an 'explosion' of change which was reflected in the architecture. Early revolution architecture was bold, innovative, and functional. As time progressed the Soviet influence gave rise to long narrow and compact concrete, flat-roofed buildings. These buildings were built to provide a stanard level of housing fo people, many of whom fomerly lived in inner-city slums or in under-developed rural areas. One wuch development can be seen in Alamar on the east side of the city. Residents of this area refer to it as 'Siberia' beacuse of its distance from the city centre, lack of amenities and stark, cold, appearence. Miguel points to this as a good example of design influencing people's thoughts and lifestyle (in a negative fashion).

Some of his most recent work has been to work opposite of this... Community-based design and planning forums. A group of professionals from all areas, sociologists, architexts, psychologists, engineers, etc... all work to provide the community residents with a 'toolbox' of experts to help them achieve what they want. Making people the subject of the design rather than the object of it. A recently project with a group of Afro-Cubans in a certain area of Havana had the perspective home occupiers given a piece of paper to draw their 'dream home' on. The resultant designs caried somewhat, but many of them included a small room which seemed to have no function. When asked of the purpose of this room, it was identified as a place for their gods. Something that would have easily been left out by an architect, but is central to many Afro-Cuban's life and happiness.

Miguel once told the city planners that the measure of succes in buildings was not in the construction of x housing units for y price in z time, but happy families. He got some 'frusterated looks' from the planners. He says that in this, he is preaching a new faith of widening our view as designers, being more comprehensive.

THE SPECIAL PEROID

Miguel remembers well the special period. He says that it was very catastrophic. I would personally draw a comparison with war and post-war years in Britain (1939-1955). People felt the need to change their ways of live very deeply. Like Britons, Cubans were well equipted to compensate for the lack of food and oil by good education and stong support from the state. The dramatic change in the food system can be used as an example of something good and long-lasting that came from this period.

Miguel offered me an example of something that did not 'stick', as it were. With a two-thirds drop in oil imports, most cars were parked. The city buses went from 1500 down to 400. The drop in car travel was very noticable with cleaner air and quiet streets. Visitors claimed that Havana was the 'Caribean Amsterdam'. Bicycles were brought in from China and made available to purchase through work-places at a cost of about $1. Nearly everyone bought a bicycle and used it regularly. Many people thought that this would be a perminant feature of Havana. However, as soon as fuel became available at a reasonable price from Venuseula, this practice ended. Cars are now just as popular (if not moreso) than before. Miguel says this is a good example of how the bicycles were not seen as a 'solution' by the Cubans, merely a 'band-aid' treatment or stop-gap measure. The change was not cutural, more reactionary.

Contrasting this with changes in the food system, one of the possible reasons for success if the fact that the 'new food system' has put more control in the hands of both the producer and the consumer. Previously the food system was cenralised, there were more imports and choices, but prices were controlled and quality was not always a factor. Small, de-centralised market gardens and street markets allow direct contact between producers and consumers, as well as greater feedback. The prices at markets are also cheaper, because there is competition and de-regulation. This sustem has in-turn affected the diets of the Cuban people as they nor eat more 'whole' foods and make do with what is available at the markets.

CUBAN PARADOXES

Ninety percent of Cubans own their own homes, basically mortgage free. After the revolution they were able to buy their own homes with a 0% mortgage. However, there is currently little to no money available to repair or renovate them. If the average salary is less than $20 a month, and one gallon of paint is $5 you can understand why this is.

Another paradox is the system of earnings and housing. Socialism is supposed to allow for payment of wages based on contribution to society. However, in practise this does not always work.

[Postscript... My meeting with Miguel was not nearly long enough. He is planning on coming to the UK at some point, and I hope to meet him again. In the mean time I am looking for some of his academic publications in English).]

First tatse of Cuban life...

[A little addition... to understand the following post I should introduce everyone to the Cuban monetary system. There are two currencies: convertable pesos (CUC) and national pesos. Convertable pesos are used mostly by tourists and used to be pegged to the US dollar, but are now worth a bit more £1 GBP = $1.75 CUC. National pesos are used by most Cubans for everything, they are paid in this currency $1 CUC = 26 National Pesos or £1 GBP = 45.5 National Pesos. Takes a bit of getting used to.]

Had a fairly busy day yesterday, all things considered, however it was still fairly slack considering my normal pace. I went over to Dale's house to check my email and his wife took me shopping at the grocery store (Palco, the posh store for overseas people). Food was fairly expensive, the prices varied widely from item to item. You would find UK prices on some things and extremely high prices on others. For instance, a bag of Nestle mini chocolate bars were $15 CUC. Oddly enough, most of the food in Palco were 'Our Compliments', which is an in-store brand for a large Canadian supermarket called Sobey's. Reminded me of the close ties that Canada has developed with Cuba.

The remainder of the day I spent cooking in the flat and repairing the cooker which had a problem with the gas igniter.

Julio came over in the evening and explained more to be about the money and day-to-day life in Cuba. I have also had a similar conversation with Dale and his wife, giving me 'a well experienced outsiders' perspective. It is interesting to see the contrast. There is certainly no comparison between Cuba and Canada. In Cuba, visiting a store would give you the impression that there has recently been a natural disaster. Not much selection and usually just 'bare essentials' on the shelves as compared what seems like an un-ending selection in most grocery stores in Canada or the UK. That being said, no one seems to be lacking for the essentials. Julio explained why.

He and his wife both have good jobs. They make their pay in National Pesos. He explained that a few things are provided to everyone by the state for free. The first big one is housing, which costs nothing. Nearly everyone in Cuba owns their own home, about 90%. If you wish to move house, you can trade your house with someone else. Otherwise it is difficult to move, as there is a dearth of new build homes. Even if you inherit a home, you may not be able to keep it, as the old adage of posession being nine-tenths of the law is very nearly the law in Cuba. If you aren't living in a house, you probably don't have much chance at owning it.

All utilities are owned by the state, so it is very cheap. Giving prices in CUC, a good estimate for a month might be $0.60 for gas, $3.00 for electricity, $3.50 for water and $0.50 for the telephone. That is less than $10 CUC for all the utilities for the average family with two teenage children.

As for food... Every person is allotted a basket of food per month for free. It isn't really 'enough', but is sufficient to stave off hunger, should that be the case. It is mostly beans, pulses, and rice with a small amount of chicken, meat and fish. Other food you would have to buy, most likely at the street markets. Food at the markets is much cheaper than at the stores. All food in the store is price controlled. Street markets operate on a 'free market' system, more or less. About $5 CUC can feed a person for two weeks on market food.

That brings us to wages. Being a socialist country, the wages are all set by the government and there is not a lot of spread between the lowest wage and the highest. $10 - $30 CUC month per person is about it. A doctor makes about $30 CUC and an unskilled worker probably makes $10. This means the average family brings in $20 to $40 CUC, roughly speaking. Given this and the cost of living, there is enough left over for a few odds and ends, but not enough to save. Saving money is not something Cubans usually do. Hence no Credit cards or bank accounts.

The disposable income left over after utilities and food would most likely be spent on transport and consumables like tobacco, alcohol or petrol.

Speaking of tobacco, Cubans smoke a lot of the stuff. Nearly everyone smokes and nerely everyone smokes cigars. Julio often said I am missing the two most imortant things in Cuba, rum and cigars. I would wager that there are other, less expensive, pleasures... namely music. It would seem that there is music everywhere, even as I sit and write this, I can hear music playing. In old Havana, live bands are everywhere. It makes for a very nice atmosphere. I should also be said that with the exception of a weekends the music usually dies down by 9 pm and doesn't cause any loss of sleep.

Other noise obervations... there are a lot of stray dogs about. It would seem that they probably have owners, but they aren't confined to their home lots. They are usually small dogs that keep to themselves with humans but like chasing other stay dogs and the odd cat. It would also seem many people have roosters, as they usually do a good job of waking me up in the morning. The electrical power also doesn't stay on very consistantly. It flickers now and then and seems to go out most every night for a minute or two.

I think Julio summed up life in Cuba. It is very day-to-day. You know that you have a certain things provided for, but you do not have credit or bank accounts. If you have money it is to provide for the next day. All Cubans seem to have relatives in Miami... Julio got a text message at Christmas time from a friend in Miami saying: "Lots of presents this year, but not much fun". He sent one back: "In Cuba, not many presents, but LOTS of fun." I am going to see if I can visit the Museum of the Revolution tomorrow to see if I can learn more about the socialist way of life here.

London for Havana

[As this entry is backdated, I wanted to just add a little intro to the following posts. Whilst I was in Cuba I kept a paper journal of my travels. I thought it might be useful and sort of an informal resource for some the presentations I have been asked to make on the trip.

It is important for me to gratefully acknowledge the Scottish Ecological Design Association for awarding me the 2007 Krystyna Johnson Student Travel Award, without which I could not have made this journey.

The purpose of these entries is not to be a completely technical report nor is it purely a personal journal. I hope that it comes across as a bit of both.]

I left London in the very early hours from Sara's (my friend Yanos' sister from Newcastle) flat near Canary Wharf and caught the night bus to Trafalgar Square at 3:30 am. Despite lots of planning the day before, I had forgot to get enough change for the two bus journies. Hence, when I arrived at Trafalgar Square I didn't have change for the bus I was planning on taking to Victoria Station. The 24 hour TESCO Express was closed for renovations so I was forced to walk. Despite the setback, I still arrived at Victoria in enough time to catch the 5:00 am Gatwick Express. Arriving at Gatwick at 5:30 am, I still had to wait over an hour as there was only one person working the checkin desk for Cubana. The long queues and rediciously security measures always remind me of how much I hate air travel.

The flight to Havana seemed extremely long compared to other transatlantic crossings I have made. The plane was an older Boeing 767, chartered from a Spanish company, was a bit clunky, but suitable.

A mistake on the Cubana website showed my flight arrive an hour late, when in fact it had arrived about fifteen minutes early. This resulted in Dale (my aunt's newphew who lives in Havana) arriving at the airport a bit late. I'm glad he was early, as I was beginning to become a bit nervous given the general lack of English speakers I envisioned trying to explain my story to.

Dale had arranged for me to stay at his friend Juilo's, house. After getting settled in Julio showed me and three other Canadians around Old Havana. It is an amazing city, reminds me of where one might picture pirates, very Spanish colonial, preserved in a different way than is found in California or Mexico.

The flat where I am staying is lovely. It has three bedrooms with large kitchen, living room and dining room. Julio also has a very nice 1956 Chevy, which currently has carb problems, typical single bbl Rochester. It is a shame that he can't even pick up a two bbl Rochester, much better performance. I am going to give him a hand fixing it on Saturday.