The Cuban Experience : Survival, Sustainablity and Building Community

The famous Cuban activist, Roberto Perez, is visiting Australia in 2008, giving the key note address at APC9, and will be visiting the Blue Mountains on 27th March. He will talk about the Cuban experience (which experienced Peak Oil in 1990's) and engage in dialogue and discussion on practical ways we can meet the challenges of climate change and making the transition to a low energy society.

The big words on many people’s minds today are Climate Change and Peak Oil. The big question is how do we make the transition to a low energy society, and what would such a society be like? Where are there models we can learn and take inspiration from? If you have seen the award-winning documentary film The Power of Community you would promptly reply “Cuba”.

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 the Cuban people’s hardship, ingenuity, and triumph over sudden adversity, through cooperation, conservation, and community, to create a low energy society is inspirational. Cuba’s transition to organic agriculture, and rapid relocalisation based on decentralized health care and higher education, bicycles and public transport, and community response to radical change is both thought provoking and empowering.

What is CAPE?

CAPE evolved in response to a request from the Foundation for Nature and Humanity, Havana, Cuba, for Robyn Francis to visit Cuba to provide training and support in integrated urban planning for sustainable cities and ecovillage design. The Australian Network felt that the Australian community had much to learn from the Cuban experience so the concept of an exchange was born: Roberto to Australia, Robyn to Cuba.

Erda Institute with Permaculture Education have established CAPE, and a dedicated CAPE fund, to bring Roberto Perez to Australia in March-April 2008. Roberto’s visit coincides with a number of key events including the 9th Australian Permaculture Convergence, Sydney.Roberto attributes much of the success of Cuba’s urban agriculture and food security to the introduction of permaculture by a group of Australian permaculture trainers during the early years of the Cuban crisis, or ‘Special Period’. The city of Havana now produces over 60% of its fruit and vegetables within the city and peri-urban areas.

(extract from CAPE Flyer)