Looking outside at the glorious Indian summer that we are currently experiencing here in Manchester it feels impossible not to look forward to seven weeks today when I will be waking up in a similarly bright and sunny Havana, though I suspect it will also be a little hotter there as well!
Through the kind support of The Winston Churchill Memorial Trust I will be spending four weeks in Cuba researching urban agriculture. I still need to pinch myself to believe that this is actually going to happen and think I'll only be able to fully believe it when the long running saga of The Visa is finally resolved.
I have never been to Cuba before and don't quite know what to expect when I get there. All I know so far is that everybody I have contacted over there to help support my adventure have been kind and helpful beyond belief. I am so excited to finally get to meet some of these people in reality, some of whom I have been in communication with since early February! I also can't wait to finally set foot on a world famous Cuban huerta or organiponico like the beautiful one on the photograph above which is just on the outskirts of Havana and was photographed by the wonderful team at IPES Centre for Urban Agriculture. By all accounts, these huertas are truly inspirational places and I am eager to find out how they function practically and what role they have within their local community and local food infrastructure.
Sounds interesting to you? I can't guarantee that I'll be blogging too much when I'm out there as the internet is intermittent to say the least in Cuba. But I promise I'll share everything that I learn here as soon as I get back.
