In the Tobacco Fields

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Viñales National Park, Cuba: During my trip to Cuba I spent a day in a beautiful valley three hours away from Havana.  The food was fabulous as were the cigars.

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Viñales National Park is home to tobacco farms and Cuba’s nascent ecotourism industry.

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One such example of ecotourism is the Finca Agroecológica el Paraíso. The privately owned farm donates 90% of what it produces to people in the valley and sells the rest to tourists at its restaurant. Martín works at the farm and takes pride in their organic produce.

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Iván is a fourth generation tobacco farmer. He sells 90% of what he grows to the government. The rest he keeps for personal consumption and the occasional off the books transaction with tourists.

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In addition to old cars, Cuba does not have modern farming techniques. Many fields lie fallow.

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Many parts of Cuba are experiencing a drought. Water basins to store rain water are common on roofs throughout the country.

One thought on “In the Tobacco Fields”

  1. You are a terrific photographer. Do you want to ask Barbara Peterson is she can use any of your photos for one of the travel publications for which she writes?

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