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  • From: <darren@permaculture.biz>
  • To: "'permaculture'" <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [permaculture] Fwd: cuban relocalization of agriculture
  • Date: Tue, 1 Aug 2006 13:31:10 +0700

G'day,

At the recent Ryde TAFE (July 2006, Sydney, Australia) PDC, fellow teacher
Penny Pyett unwrapped this beauty to the delight of all of our students, and
myself, not having seen or heard of it before. It was a great antidote to
the previous nights viewing of "End of Suburbia", which for some very
suburban students was quite confronting. Its great to see powerful and
achievable solutions being proffered instead of the usual one-way street of
reporting all that's bad in the world. That's what its all about.

Interesting living in Viet Nam, a former Soviet-supported state, for most of
2005, where cheap oil is not a reality. Diesel is 7500 dong/litre and petrol
is about 11000 dong/litre (15800 dong/USD) and average rural wage is about
30-50000 dong/day. As a result cars are rare (added to this are very high
car taxes - a Toyota Camry starts at USD$66000) and motor bikes have a
statutory limit of 125cc. Except for a few old 1960's Vespas & Lambrettas
(150cc) only expats go to the trouble and expense of paying the authorities
extra to have bigger bikes. Placing limits to growth are interesting to
view, especially in the west where limits to consumption are only really
determined by centralized interest rate control.

Viet Nam is also different to Cuba in that it has reasonable reserves in
Natural Gas and Oil plus it has diplomatic relations with the US which Cuba
does not.

Ciao,

Darren Doherty



-----Original Message-----
From: permaculture-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org
[mailto:permaculture-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of Lawrence F.
London, Jr.
Sent: Tuesday, August 01, 2006 12:52 AM
To: permaculture
Subject: [permaculture] Fwd: cuban relocalization of agriculture

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: [SANET-MG] cuban relocalization of agriculture
Date: Mon, 31 Jul 2006 11:38:44 +0200
From: François WARLOP <warlop.grab@TISCALI.FR>
Reply-To: warlop.grab@tiscali.fr
To: SANET-MG@LISTS.IFAS.UFL.EDU

*_For Immediate Release_** **NEWS RELEASE**__*
Contact: Megan Quinn
937-767-2161
megan@communitysolution.org <mailto:megan@communitysolution.org>

*New Documentary Film on Cuba *
*/The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak/** /Oil/*

YELLOW SPRINGS, Ohio – May 2006 . . . The just released film, /The Power
of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil/, documents Cuba’s emergency
transition to local organic agriculture, renewable energy, and
large-scale mass transit. The transition occurred following the Soviet
collapse in 1990, when their massive subsidies of imported oil and food
to Cuba were halted.

In this documentary, ordinary Cubans talk about the immediate hardships
they faced. Their GDP dropped by more than one third, transportation
nearly stopped and food became scarce - the average Cuban lost 20 pounds
during the first years of this economic crisis.

The film visits urban gardens and organic farms, explains the
relationship between food and fossil fuels, and shows how a society can
change from an industrialized, global focus to a local, community-based
one. It is a rare view into this island culture, using firsthand
reporting that focuses on what Cubans learned about adapting to living
with less.

Cuba’s experience provides a living model for how the rest of the world
can respond to the coming world oil production peak and irreversible
decline some oil experts say will occur this decade. “Everyone who is
concerned about Peak Oil needs to see this film,” said Richard Heinberg,
author of /The Party's Over/ and /Powerdown/. “It is a story not just of
individual achievement, but of the collective mobilization of an entire
society to meet an enormous challenge.”

The documentary is drawing rave reviews with such comments as,

“…The most uplifting portrayal of a success story coming out of chaos,”
and “A must see for survival in the next energy age beyond oil.” Viewer
Joshua Lockyer, of Atlanta said, “If we want to know how we as a nation
are going to survive the peak oil crisis we need to have models...This
film begins to show us how.”

The Community Solution, Executive Producer of the film, is a non-profit
organization in Yellow Springs, Ohio dedicated to seeking viable,
low-energy options to the coming peak oil crisis. It hosts the annual
“U.S. Conference on Peak Oil and Community Solutions,” and offers other
programs to increase public awareness about peak oil.

Producers Faith Morgan, Pat Murphy, and Megan Quinn traveled to Cuba in
2004 to capture Cubans’ story on film. Greg Greene, videographer and
writer/director of the documentary /The End of Suburbia,/ and
photographer John Morgan, traveled with them as additional crew in Cuba.
Eric Johnson was editor and Tom Blessing IV, associate producer.

/The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil/ runs for 53 minutes
and is available on DVD or VHS for $20 plus shipping and handling. To
order, visit, visit www.communitysolution.org/cuba
<outbind://59/eudora/eudora/Local%20Settings/Temporary%20Internet%20Files/OL
K17/www.communitysolution.org/cuba>
or call 937-767-2161.



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