Browse Items (385 total)
- Collection: Cultural Exchange - Puerto Rico Sustainable Disaster Relief
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Bee Box
Bee Box at Tainasoy Apiario.
Goat Cage
Temporary goat cage constructed out of recycled/upcycled pallets after Hurricane María
Food Forest at Tainasoy
This hillside is filled with fruit like banana, plantain, pineapple and papaya. Beyond the food forest, at the bottom of the slope, is the first site of the first earthship construction site in Puerto Rico.
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…
Noemi Chaparro
Noemi Chaparro, one of the farm owners at Tainasoy, gave a tour of the land, including the site where the first earthship construction in Puerto Rico would be begin to be built in the coming months.
Mario Antunez
Mario Antunez, member of Colectivo Verdolaga, who is on site at Tainasoy Apiario working on the first earthship build in Puerto Rico.
Noemi Chaparro & Mario Antunez at Tainasoy
Noemi Chaparro, one of the farm owners at Tainasoy, and Mario Antunez, one of the key crew members of the earthship build at Tainasoy and member of Colectivo Verdolaga which partnered with Tainasoy to plan and construct the earthship.
Beekeeping Equipment
Beekeeping equipment at Tainasoy Apiario.
Bee Box
Bee box ready to house bees after a honeybee rescue by Carlos Chaparro, one of the owners of Tainasoy Apiario.
Garden at Tainasoy Apiario
The garden beds at Tainasoy Apiario are raised beds with irrigation ditches fed by a rainwater catchment system. The beds are made on contour for soil stability and to help prevent erosion, as well as for water management. These beds are for annual…
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…
Art Packs
Art packs from Hudson Valley Seed Company donations were set aside specifically for schools. The art packs would allow those teaching agriculture to integrate the arts into their activities and lessons. This is essential because art and music classes…
Seed Brigade Volunteers
Seed brigade volunteers sorting seed for distribution by the PR Resilience Fund. Bulk donations had to be separated into individual seed packets for distribution. The help of dozens of volunteers every day for a week made it possible to ge the seeds…
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.
Sign - "Plaza Vivero"
Sign inside the gardens at Plaza Vivero that says “Plaza Vivero community project - people live here”
Hurricane Damage in Puerta de Tierra
Signs of the devastation and destruction caused by Hurricane María remained in plain sight island wide almost 4 months after the storm. This is damage caused to a roof and building in Puerto de Tierra.
Relief, Renewal, Resilience: Reflections on Hurricane María and her Aftermath - Trailer
Trailer for the Raíces Cultural Center documentary Relief, Renewal, Resilience: Reflections on Hurricane María and her Aftermath. The documentary was premiered in the Spring of the 2019 at the Forum Theater in Metuchen, New Jersey.
Since…
Since…
Seed Donations
Seeds and other sustainable disaster relief donations given to friend of Raíces Jariksa Valle Feliciano.
Blue Tarp Roofs
Four months after the storm, thousands of blue roofs were seen in all parts of the island. It was the first sight we saw when descending into Luis Muñoz Marin International Airport, and it was a common sight for the Raíces crew to come across…
Clearing Brush
Immediately after the storm residents formed brigades to clear the road of debris, including fallen trees, vegetation and landslides. Much of this was piled along the sides of the roads. Upon arriving in Puerto Rico four months after the storm, most…
Destroyed by Maria
Gas station in Loíza Aldea that was destroyed by Hurricane Maria and has been closed since.
Electric Lines Post-Maria
Bent, broken and leaning electric poles were a common sight in every part of the island, even four months after the storm. This went along with electric lines laying across roads and in piles along roadsides, and lines hanging just inches above the…
Abandoned House
Abandoned and completely destroyed houses were seed in every part of the island. Even as attempts to clean up and pile debris were made, there was still no trash collection in the interior four months after the storm, and debris piles remained on the…
A Grid Destroyed
The powerful winds of Hurricane Maria brought down tens of thousands of electric poles, snapping and bending some completely in half.
La Coca - Closed
The road into El Yunque National Forest was open in January 2018, but only up until the parking lot directly below La Coca waterfall. The road was too dangerous to travel past this point, with landslides, debris and collapsed roads still a challenge.