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  • Tags: Finca Mi Casa

https://i.vimeocdn.com/video/753343695-c0b602276a5b82281001c9d90f59d58d92eda8ebed1f570d6ab7807bedbcadf7-d_1920x1080
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…

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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…

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Pollinators were hit especially hard in the months after Hurricane Maria, as the winds and rains left the island with little foliage and almost no flowers. Food for pollinators was scarce for several months. By the time of Raíces Cultural Center’s…

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This section of Don Luis’s farm had not yet been repaired and replanted after Hurricane Maria, but instead of keeping it mowed and tilled, cover crops were left in place to keep down unwanted weeds, help hold the soil in place as well as regenerate…

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Banana trees with regenerated foliage at Finca Mi Casa. Banana and plantain trees completely lost all foliage and vegetation in the winds of Hurricane Maria but had already begun to regenerate when Raíces visited in January 2018.

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At Finca Mi Casa, Don Luis Soto only uses hand tools for food production. This helps build the soil instead of destroy and degrade it, protects the life within the soil and keeps the use of fossil fuels on the farm to a minimum.

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Though garlic and onions are difficult crops to grow in tropical environments, Don Luis Soto of Finca Mi Casa has developed methods and seed stock for both that have adapted to tropical climates, producing full sized, organic garlic and onions. The…

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Raíces Cultural Center’s January 2018 visit to Finca Mi Casa was a true lesson in resiliency and hospitality. In the face of Hurricane Maria and the difficult relief and recovery period that continues to this day, Don Luis Soto of Finca Mi Casa…

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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.

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Raíces Cultural Center Director Francisco G. Gómez talking with Don Luis Soto of Finca Mi Casa about the his experiences during and after Hurricane María. Reminders of the devastation everywhere, from damage to structures to scarred and damaged trees…

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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…

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Some of the damage to the screened in greenhouse at Finca Mi Casa in Camuy, Puerto Rico as a result of Hurricane Maria. Almost immediately after the Hurricane, a work brigade of volunteers from Organización Boricuá de Agricultura Ecológica de Puerto…

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Shallots are one of many crops not common to the Caribbean that Don Luis Soto has been able to adapt to the tropical growing conditions and proposed successfully on his farm Finca Mi Casa.

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Don Luis explaining what is growing inside the greenhouse area and what has changed on the farm since Hurricane María to Raíces Cultural Center Director Francisco G. Gómez. The plastic roof and repairs to this greenhouse became one of the projects…

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As Don Luis tours his home based farm, he harvests fruits and leaves from the plants that are growing for visitors to sample. Three months after Hurricane María devastated the island of Puerto Rico, Don Luis and other small, local farmers already had…

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Don Luis Soto keeps one heirloom tobacco plant in production in his greenhouse in order to save the seeds.

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Heirloom dino kale growing in a polyculture of tomatoes and aromatic herbs on Finca Mi Casa in Camuy, Puerto Rico.

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Despite losing the plastic roof and the door to the screened in greenhouse, Don Luis Soto of Finca Mi Casa resumed annual crop production inside his greenhouse almost immediately after Hurricane Maria passed. When the Raíces crew visited in January…

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Don Luis Soto preparing a patch of earth for planting beans at his farm Finca Mi Casa in Camuy, Puerto Rico. The heirloom bean seeds planted here were used for seed saving and growing a local seed stock on the island of Puerto Rico.

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Don Luis Soto watches over as the Raíces Crew helps prepare a bed for planting beans. This planting was intended for seed saving of three different kinds of bean seeds sent to Puerto Rico to help regenerate a local seed stock. Before planting, the…

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Don Luis Soto explaining to Raíces EcoCulture Coordinator Nicole Wines how he makes his compost mixture for planting on his organic farm. Using all natural, organic and local resources, Don Luis works to regenerate the soil and maintain and improve…

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Don Luis Soto of Finca Mi Casa explaining how he prepares his organic compost mixture with worm castings, ground eggshells, ground stone, peat moss and coco fiber.

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The Raíces crew was greeted with hospitality everywhere we went on the island during our January 2018 sustainable disaster support trip. Doña Carmen gave us a break from turning the earth in the small bean patch we were about to plant to take a…

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Doña Carmen Soto of Finca Mi Casa bringing coffee and homemade muffins to give us some fuel to continue to our work and travels.
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