Power of community

Just watched this fascinating documentary about the remarkable ways that Cuba managed to survive the collapase of the Soviet Union and an intensified US embargo....the overnight loss of oil in their national economy.

It definitely makes you hopeful about the power of humans to solve really tough problems with ingenuity, resolve, and community. As an urban gardener I was awestruck with how Cubans figured out how to do massive small-scale urban organic farming for their food security...I want to get on a plane to learn from these folks how they do what they do. As a librarian I was struck with their long-term and fierce committment to education as a path of service. How they are able to quickly mobilize community knowledge through training of trainers, i.e. helping tap the older farmers to teach younger ones how to use oxen. As a USer, I'm always struck by the bare facts that our very way of life is not sustainable in the long-term.

Check it out!

http://www.powerofcommunity.org/cm/index.php