Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Burlington, VT 05402
www.VtCaribbean.org
We believe there
is great opportunity
and value in mutually
learning and working
together to achieve
shared goals
At this crucial time in history, VCI is prioritizing our work on the island with an emphasis on supporting the sustainability
gains that have been made in Cuba over the past several decades and sharing the lessons learned outside of Cuba. We
believe strongly in linking people, institutions and movements on both sides of the Florida Straits who are dedicated
to creating more ecologically resilient, socially just and economically fair systems. We support the sovereignty of the
Cuban people and nation and will continue to work closely with our partners on the island to share lessons learned
and success stories to a wider audience and to increase their access to resources and opportunities. Below are recent
highlights of our work in people-to-people exchanges and our growing collaborative research and action program.
With gratitude,
Margarita Fernandez
Executive Director
PO Box 8655
Burlington, VT 05402
www.VtCaribbean.org
PO Box 8655
Burlington, VT 05402
www.VtCaribbean.org
Economics in collaboration with other US-based institutions, aims to foster dialogues and collaborations between sustainable food system advocates in Cuba and
the United States. In October 2015, VCI worked with the
Schumacher Center to lead a small delegation of promoters of the network to Cuba with the goal of sharing the
concept of the network, and soliciting advice, ideas, and
support. Since then, VCI has served as the liaison with key
Cuban institutions in the development of plans for the
network. VCI, in partnership with the Schumacher Center
and the Cuban Association of Agronomists and Foresters,
is coordinating a meeting in May 2016 to formally establish the network across borders by bringing together key
agroecology stakeholders from both countries to define
the networks strategic objectives, governance and membership structure, and areas for collaboration.
PO Box 8655
VCI and the Gund Institute for Ecological Economics of the University of Vermont have partnered to establish long-term research projects and collaborations around sustainability issues with academics,
NGOs, and citizens in Cuba. Research project themes include sustainable agriculture, biodiversity conservation, economic development,
forestry, rural livelihoods, environmental policy and governance, and
climate change. VCI led a research scoping trip for 10 Gund fellows in
Jan 2016 to meet with potential partners and explore areas of mutual
interest for research collaborations. Three Cuban organizations have
committed to working with Gund and VCI to raise funds to implement
Burlington, VT 05402
www.VtCaribbean.org