Browse Items (385 total)
- Collection: Cultural Exchange - Puerto Rico Sustainable Disaster Relief
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Sorting Seeds for Semitecas
Sorting seeds sent by Hudson Valley Seed Company for Semitecas, or mini seed banks. These mini seed banks are designated for schools. Due to a lack of funding, schools in Puerto Rico no longer offer music and art so Hudson Valley Seed Library seed…
Sparse Trees and Yokahu Tower
A distant view of Yokahu Tower from the parking lot below La Coca Falls in El Yunque National Forest. This tower would normally be hidden by the dense foliage of the rainforest, but remains visible due to the defoliation caused by “Hurricane María.
Starfruit
Starfruit ready to harvest just three months after Hurricane María devastated the island of Puerto Rico. The renewal and resiliency of nature is amazing.
Starfruit off the Tree
While working on a service-learning project on Plenitud’s permaculture farm and education center, Tobias Knight of St. Thomas University in Minnesota takes a break to enjoy a ripe starfruit directly off the tree. Many fruit trees throughout the…
Statues, Paintings and Artifacts in Samuel Lind’s Studio
In the studio and home of Puerto Rican artist Samuel Lind.
Stream - Adjuntas, Puerto Rico
A stream running through the mountains and into the town of Adjuntas, Puerto Rico.
Stream and Forest Regenerating in Adjuntas
Street and forest regenerating and regrowing after Hurricane Maria’s destruction.
Stream in El Yunque
The landscape showed signs of the beginnings of regeneration when the Raíces Crew visited Puerto Rico on our January 2018 Disaster Relief Support Trip. Nature is resilient and strong!
Structural Damage - Adjuntas
Months following Hurricane María, homes remained in need of repair due to lack of access to materials. Debris collected and piled after the storm also remained curbside for months as sanitation services were slow to resume after the storm.
Studio of Samuel Lind
Sculpture of a woman dancing bomba overlooking a working station in artist Samuel Lind’s home art studio in Loíza Aldea.
Superadobe Doghouse
Built over 5 years ago, this superadobe doghouse was the first earthbag and superadobe structure built at Plenitud PR as a pilot and test project.
Superadobe House
Back of the first earthbag and superadobe house built at Plenitud, designed by Owen Ingley. This home did not use the dome structure that is often used in earthbag building, but was instead designed with a more conventional zinc roof. This structure…
Sustainable Coffee Farming
Coffee seedlings for five acres of plantings by Casa Pueblo. The coffee will be farmed and harvested sustainably and available for purchase by visitors to Casa Pueblo as well as local community members. Sales of this coffee help support the…
Talking to Students on Retreat at Plenitud
Almost immediately after we arrived at Plenitud PR, Owen asked us to speak to students who were visiting on a service learning retreat from St. Tomas University in Minnesota.
Talking to VISIONS Students at Plenitud
Raíces Cultural Center Director Francisco G. Gómez talking to students on a service learning retreat at Plenitud PR in Las Marías.
Talking with Don Luis Soto
Raíces Cultural Center Director Francisco G. Gómez talking with Don Luis Soto of Finca Mi Casa about the damage his farm suffered during Hurricane María.
Talking with the Ayalas
Raíces Director Francisco G. Gómez speaking with Raquel and Junito Ayala about the storm, the aftermath, and the recovery and rebuilding.
Tangled Wires, Destroyed Grid
Mangled utility poles and dangling, tangled wires were a common sight throughout the island, even in the lush rainforest of El Yunque.
Tara Rodriguez Besosa at the PR Resilience Fund’s Seed Brigade
Creator and leader of the PR Resilience Fund initiative Tara Rodriguez Besosa receiving donations brought to Puerto Rico from members of our home community in Central NJ by the Raíces Cultural Center crew. Included in the list of supplies requested…
Tarped Roof
The roof on the wooden casita at Tainasoy Apiario was damaged over one room in the storm. When FEMA came to tarp the roof three months after Hurricane María, workers walked on undamaged sections of the roof, causing further damage and leaks. As a…
Teaching and Learning
After a day of sorting seeds at the PR Resiliency Fund’s Seed Brigade, most of the volunteers stuck around and were eager to learn about local edible and medicinal wild plants and visit nearby community gardens.
Terraced Farming
The Plenitud PR team designed and terraformed along the slopes at their farm in Las Marías. Farming using permaculture principles has helped hold the soil, and the farm saw little erosion during Hurricane María and the months of rain after the…
Terraced Food Forest
Pathway through two mountainside terraced garden beds. The terraced beds are planted on counter and designed to help control the flow and absorption of water from rainfall. Because of the terraforming and water management techniques that Plenitud…
The Raíces Crew with the Finca Mi Casa Crew
Don Luis and Doña Carmen Soto of Finca Mi Casa with Raíces Cultural Center co-founders Francisco G. Gómez and Nicole Wines during our Sustainable Disaster Relief Support Exchange Trip in January 2018. Raíces is proud to have provided support to Finca…
The Seed Huntress
Sefra Alexander, The Seed Huntress, sorting seed packets donated by Hudson Valley Seed Library at the PR Resilience Fund’s week long Seed Brigade.