Everyone has probably heard of the Rastafarians in Jamaica, Bob Marley made the movement famous. The fact that there are also Rastafarians in Cuba, on the other hand, is more insider knowledge. Karawani Bruno came into close contact with Cuba’s rasta and reggae scene back in 2005. One friendship that continues to this day is with Yosvani. About 13 years ago, this man fulfilled his dream of living the life of a dropout in the mountains. Together with other “brothers” and “sisters”, they have been cultivating a piece of land far up in the mountains of Guantanamo province ever since. Their project is called “El Caliman”.

They live there without electricity and piped water (but there are crystal-clear streams and rivers) and are largely self-sufficient. What began as a project for a few Rasta is now more of a “beacon”: in a time plagued by power cuts and overpriced food, more and more young families from all over the country are becoming interested in the way of life of Yosvani and his friends. He readily explains how it is possible to free oneself from many of the worries and hardships of everyday life in Cuba and become less dependent on the country’s economic difficulties. Their way of farming is probably called “permaculture” here. The Rasta trade the surplus of their fruit and vegetable production down in the valley for things that are not available up there. These include rice, petrol for the chainsaw and medicine for humans and animals. Yosvani suffers from three stomach ulcers, remnants from decades of his city life in Havana. He is physically very weak and emaciated due to the illness. He no longer goes to the doctor – he can tell him what’s wrong, but he can’t help him due to a lack of medication. He is therefore dependent on the black market. However, his acid blockers are too expensive to buy regularly. Yosvani’s wife Omilsi is very worried about her husband. She fears that the entire “El Caliman” project would be jeopardized if he is no longer able to do so. And it is already too weak to regularly transport their products down into the valley. It was a matter close to our hearts to use our donations to procure medicines for Yosvani and also to finance a second mule. In future, both the goods and Yosvani itself can be transported to the valley and back again on the back of an animal. We also bought an old, robust grain mill for the project, which means another piece of independence for “El Caliman”. For us, it is precisely such small projects of independence that show that even in the worst of crises, things can still be done! If you would like to support the Rastafari, you can do so with the keyword “El Caliman” to the following account: Karawane der Menschlichkeit, Raiffeisenbank Güssing-Jennersdorf IBAN: AT14 3302 7000 0002 3408 BIC: RLBBAT2E027