How Can We as Consumers, Chefs and Small-Holder Farmers Better Adapt to Climate Change?
I am a Nicaraguan chef from Ferrandi Culinary School in Paris and a woman who farms. I made a transition into (or I BECAME ) a farmer with my husband four years ago, when we moved to Cuba to start an organic family farm, thanks to the support of our family in Cuba and everyone who supported us from the distance. With a very good raining season, 2014 was a good year to start farming. But that was soon to change.
2015 and 2016 brought to us what the local newspapers called ‘the worst droughts in the last decades.’ Hurricane Mathew followed in October 2016 and Irma in September 2017. This changed the way we were planning to approach agriculture. Coping with climate change risks became a priority at the farm.
When I found out about the UN CC:e-Learn platform, I was relieved that I could gain a free access to courses related to climate change. The Massive Open Online Course on National Adaptation Plans: Building Climate Resilience in Agriculture (NAP-Ag MOOC) on the platform was just the course I needed to take. The NAP-Ag MOOC offered me an opportunity to read and exchange ideas with people from all over the world. Through the video episodes, I also realized how similar the struggles that we have in the Latin America and Caribbean region are to other parts of the globe, like the Philippines.
Coping with climate change risks at Finca Tungasuk
Located in the Caribbean, one of the most climate vulnerable regions, Cuba is exposed to multiple climate hazards like hurricanes and floods. The island, however, is also known for its resilient agriculture food systems. It had to adapt from a mechanized and chemical-intensive conventional farming to a traditional and chemical- free model in the 90s.
Our farm aims to support Cuban efforts in producing quality, nutritious and healthy food for everyone. Yet, climatic events in the last years put a lot of pressure on the agriculture sector and small farm holders in much of the island. As a result, we are now focusing on the longer-term actions to cope with climate change risks. Some practical actions that we are taking at the farm include:
- Setting up a nursery close to the house to take care of our seedlings. Before, we would direct seedlings in the soil but the heavy rains or lack of thereof made it difficult to take proper care of them.
- Taking measures to harvest water, we prioritized the construction of a cistern and little reservoirs around the farm. At the same time, we dug canals to avoid soil being washed out by heavy rains.
- Placing mulch around fruits trees to keep the moisture in the soil during summer season and long drought periods.
- Intercropping, to keep the moist in the orchard.
- Creating water barriers in the hilliest parts of the land with lemongrass and ginger.
At Finca Tungasuk, our farm, we also encourage volunteers and visitors to grow their own food and support farmers by buying more local products; the small changes we take can contribute to a more sustainable way of living.
On taking the NAP-Ag MOOC
It is never too late to understand how we can do our part to mitigate our carbon footprint and cope with climate change, especially if you come from or live in vulnerable regions. Even though climate change sounds like a global problem and it can be overwhelming to think about how we can do something about it, taking small steps can help create change on a local level and get others excited to get involved!
As chefs and as consumers, we can help small farm holders thrive by choosing to buy locally and cook with local products. We as small farm holders are under a lot of pressure to cope with climate hazards, so we need to start doing agriculture that promotes the protection of the environment on the long term by avoiding the conventional and soil damaging practices that have been the norm for so long.
Anyone interested in learning how they can contribute on a personal and local level to mitigate and adapt to climate change should not hesitate to participate in this course, regardless of their profession or background.
I know taking an online course may be a challenge. But I have some tips on that too. Check out my blog to learn more about my experience with the course and how I managed to juggle intermittent and expensive internet connection with the MOOC deadlines!
Check us out on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram!
- Blog: http://tungasuk.com/first-mooc-from-cuba-building-climate-resilience-in-agriculture-from-un-cce-learn-platform/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tungasuk/
- Instagram: @fincatungasuk
About NAP-Ag MOOC
The National Adaptation Plans: Building Climate Resilience in Agriculture (NAP-Ag MOOC) is presented as part of the Integrating Agriculture in National Adaptation Plans (NAP-AG) Programme and is a joint effort between the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR). It was made possible by the generous funding of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB) through its International Climate Initiative (IKI).
About UN CC:Learn
UN CC:Learn is a partnership of more than 30 multilateral organizations supporting countries to design and implement systematic, recurrent and results-oriented climate change learning. Through its engagement at the national and global levels, UN CC:Learn contributes to the implementation of climate change training, education and public awareness-raising.
