Huskies in Cuba:  Part I  |  Part II  |  Part III  |  Part IV
Photo Galleries:  Baseball (Part I)  |  Volleyball (Part I)  |  Baseball (Part II)  |  Baseball (Part III)  |  Volleyball (Part III)
Sights & Sounds:  Part I  |  Part II  |  Part III  |  Part IV

HAVANA, Cuba – Bonding with the locals mainly through sport during their first three days in Cuba, the Northeastern baseball and volleyball teams dropped their bats and balls and let their cultural exchange take root during the morning of Dec. 22, 2016, when the Huskies visited Organoponico de Alamar, an urban plantation located a stone's throw east of Havana.
 
While the dissolution of the Soviet Union was taking place overseas in 1991, Cuba's main source for farming equipment and fertilizer quickly came offline, leaving the nation in search of new farming techniques that would serve as the replacement. The solution Cubans adopted was organic farming: a sustainable method in which farmers exercise crop rotation, the use of fertilizers, and recycling habits to harvest a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, and more.
 
Nearly 25 acres in size, Organoponico de Alamar is one of Cuba's oldest and most well known urban plantations both domestically and internationally. In fact, educators from Organoponico de Alamar have traveled through the Caribbean and Central America to share their sustainable farming practices with communities in need.
 
Each year, Organoponico de Alamar sells enough produce to approximately 50,000 people. According to the Huskies' translators, it is believed that 70 percent of Havana's population gains their everyday fruits and vegetables from urban plantations like that of Organopinico de Alamar.
 
With rain passing through the area prior to Northeastern's arrival, the Huskies protected their shoes from the muddy clay that covered the farm's pathways.
 
 
After a brief lecture on the farming practices used at Organopinico de Alamar, the Huskies were led on a guided tour of the grounds. Occasionally, the group's leader would stop to identify crops that were unique to this location and explain the methods behind their harvest.
 
 
Midway through the walking tour, Northeastern came across a worker that was shearing sugar cane (below), one of the plantation's largest commodities.
 
 
Continuing on, the Huskies bumped into the farm's stable, where a collection of horses and cows were sheltered from the sunlight. Around the corner, Northeastern was asked to keep to a whisper while passing through a house full of rabbits.
 
Upon completing their tour, the Huskies descended on a small plot of crops, where the two teams lent a helping hand to the workers and began weeding the rows of vegetables.
 

Working together, side by side, Northeastern successfully weeded an entire square of the plantation, much to the delight of the very appreciative workers. After one final stop at the farm's street-side stand, the Huskies bid farewell to the Organoponico de Alamar and headed on to enjoy their final day in a country few Americans have ever seen the modern side of before.