Browse Items (381 total)
- Collection: Cultural Exchange - Puerto Rico Sustainable Disaster Relief
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Earthbag House
Earthbag house at Plenitud PR. This resilient structure made it through Hurricane María and the months of rain that followed with no damage.
Edible and Medicinal Wild Plant Talk
In a one block stroll Steve Maldonado Silvestrini was able to identify several species of edible and medicinal wild plants growing wild in the neighborhood.
Educational Center at Plenitud PR
"Plenitud Puerto Rico is a non-profit educational farm and learning center that focuses on the research, demonstration, and dissemination of sustainable practices for today’s rural and urban environment." (plenitudpr.org) This building is the…
El Departamento de la Comida - Closed
We passed by where the Departamento de la Comida restaurant and local food farmer’s market used to be before Hurricane Maria. The restaurant and market were put on hold to create the PR Resiliency Fund project, which will support at least 200…
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…
Electric Pole Damage
Over 50,000 utility poles had to be replaced post-Hurricane María due to being complete destroyed or damaged beyond repair. This utility pole was made of steel reinforced concrete and still snapped in half in Hurricane Marías extremely strong winds.…
Electric Wires
Electric wires laying across the road in Adjuntas, Puerto Rico, January 2018.
Embalse Guajataca
The tower used to show the water levels of Lake Guajataca.
Exposed Shoreline
The draining of Lake Guajataca exposed parts of the lakebed and altered the visible shoreline.
FEMA Center in Adjuntas
FEMA center in Adjunas, Puerto Rico, almost four months after the storm. The only signs on the building advertised low-income loans.
FEMA Center in Adjuntas
In contrast to the open and inviting nature of Casa Pueblo, the FEMA center for Adjuntas, located directly across the street from Casa Pueblo, is closed up and guarded. The main service advertised on the building itself is small loans.
Finca Mi Casa
Plots of freshly planted land at Finca Mi Casa. Crops planted here will be for small scale food production, seed saving and supporting local pollinators.
Flag Roots
In the Old San Juan, someone had painted a Puerto Rican flag onto the roots of an uprooted tree along the waterfront.
Flower
Flower in bloom in Plenitud PR’s permaculture gardens.
Flower
A flower in the ginger family in bloom in the permaculture gardens at Plenitud PR in Las Marías, Puerto Rico.
Foliage Returning in the Mountains
Driving through the mountains of the interior of the island showed how nature has begun to regenerate after the damage of Hurricane María, but also that there was a long way to go for full recovery, as evident in the tens of thousands of landslides…
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.
Food Gardens at Plenitud PR
Tomatoes growing in a raised bed at Plenitud PR.
Food Jungle at Plenitud PR
What looks like a mountainside covered in foliage from far away is actually a food jungle when seeds close up. This mountainside if filled with fruits, beneficial herbs, nitrogen fixers, deep rooted plants to hold the soil, pollinator plants and…
For Sale
One of many storefronts for sale or rent throughout the island of Puerto Rico. This was already a common sight before Hurricane María due to the economic crisis on the island, but became event more widespread after the storm.
Fresh Harvested Starfruit
Tobias Knight, a visitor to Plenitud PR during a service learning exchange with St. Thomas University’s VISIONS program. This is the first time Tobias saw or tried eating a starfruit.
Fresh Plantings at Finca Mi Casa
Freshly planted plots at Finca Mi Casa in Camuy, Puerto Rico. All seeds planted on the farm are open pollinated so they are suitable for seed saving. Don Luis Soto, the owner of Finca Mi Casa is an expert seed saver on the island of Puerto Rico. Many…
Frutas y Vegetales Osvaldo
Roadside produce stand just a mile away from Finca Mi Casa in Camuy, Puerto Rico. It was a relief to see a small, local business providing fresh food to the community in contrast to the amount of destroyed, damaged and yet-to-be reopened businesses…
Gandules
Farmland in San Sebastian that is being used to grow gandules, or pigeon peas, after being cleared following Hurricane María.
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…