Guantanamo.- Razones is the name of a socio-community project being developed in District 103 and the community of Montgomery, a area of the San Justo People’s Council, in response to the need to promote self-consumption and sustainable food production.
Iraudis Rivera Barnes, People’s Power delegate for that area, located east of the city of Guantánamo, explained that the idea arose 17 years ago with the goal of achieving food production and improving the nutritional status of its residents.
The community’s lands were used for the quality of their productive soils and the existence of yards and plots that strengthen local self-sufficiency, and allowing people to achieve a daily consumption of 1,500 kilocalories is among its objectives, Rivera Barnes noted.
He explained that the project addresses several key issues, such as animal-based food production, agricultural production, beekeeping, rabbit farming, and sheep and goat farming, with the goal of achieving true food sovereignty and security.
However, things aren’t as they would like, since many people don’t understand its importance and how necessary it is for them to plant crops, especially in Cuba’s complex food situation, he said.
He stated that it hasn’t been easy to achieve sufficient production due to the characteristics of the district and the lack of irrigation systems, which means everything depends on personal efforts.
The goal is for people to feel useful and to harmonize work as a source of wealth with the benefits that come from nature, which is being achieved to a certain extent, he commented.
Thanks to the social-community project, District 103 has 124 planted yards and plots, while the Montgomery community has 80 planted yards and 10 farmers with farms of more than five hectares.
Alfredo Montes de Oca Ruíz, a resident of District 103, has been using his farming skills, inherited from his peasant origins, to farm half a hectare for the past eight months, where he grows his own food.
Previously, this land was unused; it belonged to a neighbor who didn’t make any profit from it. So, I decided to plant various crops such as beans, okra, sweet potatoes, cassava, lettuce, and even fruit trees. If production increases, I will sell some of it to my neighbors at a modest price, explained Montes de Oca.
The project has 5.92 hectares of land for personal consumption and donations to vulnerable families in the community. It also has 64 beehives that started in 2023 for the production of honey, known for its excellent properties and health benefits.
The lack of an irrigation system makes food production difficult. I currently use a hose, although there is a canal next to the plantations, and I hope gravity does its work. However, it is more complicated to water the crops this way alone. Sometimes I hire people to help me and use a tractor or oxen to plow the land.
The district 103 of the San Justo People’s Council has a population of 2,330 inhabitants while the community of Montgomery, which is part of that jurisdiction, is 1.3 kilometers away and is home to 260 people.
The development of the Razones socio-community project represents a significant step on the path to food self-sufficiency and community strengthening, and demonstrates that positive change is possible through collective work and individual commitment, despite the challenges faced.
