SobreviviendoaFloreciendo:InsightsonUrbanAgricultureinSanJuan,PuertoRicoFromtheWomenImmersed
By
AnaMariaZepeda THESIS
Submittedinpartialsatisfactionoftherequirementsforthedegreeof
MASTEROFSCIENCE
in
InternationalAgriculturalDevelopment
inthe
OFFICEOFGRADUATESTUDIES
ofthe
UNIVERSITYOFCALIFORNIA
DAVIS
Approved:
AmandaCrump,Chair
ClareCannon
SusyZepeda
CommitteeinCharge
2020
i
2
AbstractItiswidelyknownthatthemajorityofhumansthroughouttheworldtakingpartin
urbanagriculturearewomen(FAO,2013).However,notenoughisknownaboutwhythe
majorityofthehumanstakingpartinthisprojectarewomen;Whataretheirexperiences,
thebenefitsandchallengestheyencounter,thesignificanceoftheurbanfarms,what
approachestheyusefortheirfarming,andhowurbanagriculturebenefitstheir
communitiesinthefaceofadiminishinglocalagriculturalproduction.Moreover,this
researchfocusesonLatina’sbecauseLatina’sareimportantfixturesoffoodsystems
throughouttheworld.
Throughurbanagriculture,womeninPuertoRicoarecreatingaresistancetothe
import-orientedagriculturalsystemtheirleaderscontinuetoperpetuateandsupport.
Sincethe1960’sPuertoRicohasbeenaimportingamajorityoftheirfood,in2017itwas
estimatedthatthearchipelagoimported90-95percentoftheirfood(Carro-Figueroa2002;
Robles&Sandurani,2017).Asaresult,thefewurbanfarms(huertosurbanos)provide
someoftheonlylocallyproducedfreshproduceforPuertoRicans.Dependencytheory
supportstheideathatthecolonialrelationshipbetweentheUnitedStatesandPuertoRico
maintainsthearchipelagodependentonimportinggoodsfromtheUnitedStatesandthe
archipelagoservesastax-exemptionparadiseforAmericanbusinesses.
InJuly2019,IvisitedPuertoRicoduringthistimeIinterviewedninewomenwho
areinvolvedinurbanagricultureindifferentcapacities:volunteers,projectimplementers,
managers,andprofessors.
Theoverallobjectiveofthisresearchwastounderstand:
• Therolethathuertosurbanosplayinthelivesofwomenandthecommunities
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Theresearchquestionsaskedinordertouncoverthiswere:
• Whatarethewomen’slivedexperiencesbeinginvolvedinhuertos?
• Whataresomeofthechallengesandbenefitsexperiencedbywomeninvolvedin
huertos?
• Whatisthesignificanceofthesehuertostothewomeninvolved?
• WhatarewomenperspectivesandexperienceswiththePuertoRicofoodsystem?
• Whatislostorcouldbelostintheeventofnaturaldisaster,inrelationtothe
huerto?
Thefindingsdemonstratethatmanywomenreallyenjoyurbanfarmingandthatthis
activityprovidesfresh,healthy,andsafeproducefortheirfamiliesandcommunities.Local
consumersareeagertobuyproducegrowninPuertoRico;howevermarketinsecurityand
smallerproductionmakesthisdifficultforurbanfarmers.Localhuertosselltheirproduceat
muchlowerpricesthanthegrocerystores. Almostall thewomenfarmersexperienceda
declineinparticipationofvolunteersafewyearsaftertheestablishmentofthehuertosand
evenmoreafterHurricaneMaria.Howevermanywomendescribedthatthehuertosarevery
important for the community, as a space for food cultivation and production as well as
communitygatheringcenter.Throughurbanagriculture,womeninPuertoRicoarecreating
aresistancetotheimport-orientedagriculturalsystemtheirleaderscontinuetoperpetuate
andsupport.
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Acknowledgements
Iwouldfirstliketoexpressmygratitudetomythesiscommittee:Dr.Cannon,Dr.Crump,andDr.Zepeda;thankyouforyoursupport,advice,andguidancethroughoutthisprocesses.Iamsoluckytohaveacommitteemadeupofkind,helpful,andinsightfulindividuals.Thankyouformakingthisprocesssmoothforafirst-gengradstudentlikeme!Amanda,Ifeelsoluckytohavebeenyoufirstmentee.Thetimeandeffortyouputintoeachoneofyourstudentsdoesn’tgowithoutnotice.Thankyouforenvisioningakinderandmoreequitableacademiaandworkingtomakethathappen. IwouldalsolikethankAngieforherdedicationtotheIADprogramandallthehardworksheputsintosupportalltheIADstudents.Thankyouforalwaysbeingsupportiveandforthebestconversationsinyouroffice. ThisresearchwouldhavenotbeenpossiblewithouttheworkthatDr.MariaCalitxta-Ortizandherteamdid.IamgratefulthatDr.Calitxa-Ortizguidedmeonthisprojectandconnectedmewithintreviewees.
Eva,MuchasgraciasporelapoyoyporsermiguíaenSanJuan.Graciasporhabermedadolabienvenidaconlosbrazosabierto.¡Sequeteniasmuchascosaspendientesenesosdías,perosiemprehicistetiempoparajuntarnos! Muchasgraciasalasmujeresquefueronpartedelasentrevistas.Graciasportomarseeltiempoparamientrevistayenseñarmesushuertos.SonungrupodemujeresfuertesybondadosasqueestánhaciendoungrantrabajoparatodoslosPuertoRiqueñosymesientomuybendecidadehabertenidolaoportunidaddeaprenderdeustedes.Esteproyectonohubierasidoposiblesinustedes. Meghanthanksforyoursupportandfriendship,thoughouttheyears.Ifeelsoluckytobegoingthroughthisgraduateschooljourneywithyou.Youarethebest!
BitsIdon’tthinkIwouldhavebeenabletogothroughthisprocesseswithoutyourconstantsupportandpositiveoutlookonlife.Thanksforvisitingmeonweekendsandmakingmelaughnonstop.
Finalmente,muchasgraciasamifamilia-mimama,papa,ymihermano.Amihermanoporsuamistad.Mesientoorgullosadesertuhermana.Graciasamimamaypapaporsiemprehacernossentirsuapoyoyamortodoslosdías.Elapoyodeustedeshasidodesdequeyoerachiquita,cuandomellevabanalibreríaporquesabíanquemeencantabaleer.Esporeseapoyoquehoysoyunamujerqueleencantaleeryaprender.Amipapa,graciasporenseñarmeaserunapersonatrabajadora,humilde,yporiluminarmecuriosidaddelmundo.Amimama,ademásdesermimejoramiga,ereslamejormamaqueDiosmepudierahaberbendecidocon.Tusiemprehassidounejemplodeunapersonaquesiemprepudeverlascosaspositivasencualquierasituaciónymehasensenadocomogozardelavida.Ademásdetodoestoeresungranejemplodeeltipodemujerqueyoquisieraser.¡Graciasportodoslosgirlsweekendsquepasamosjuntasenmiapartamento,sondemismemoriasfavoritas!MilGraciasatodos!
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TableofContents
INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................. 7
LITERATUREREVIEW ..................................................................................................................... 13
PUERTORICO ...................................................................................................................................... 13 URBANANDPERI-URBANAGRICULTURE ................................................................................................ 15 URBANAGRICULTUREANDLATINAMERICA ............................................................................................ 16 URBANANDPERI-URBANAGRICULTUREANDWOMEN ............................................................................ 18 GENDERANDDISASTER ........................................................................................................................ 19
THEORETICALFRAMEWORKS ........................................................................................................ 22
DEPENDENCYTHEORY .......................................................................................................................... 22 FEMINISTTHEORETICALFRAMEWORK ................................................................................................... 25
POSITIONALITY ............................................................................................................................... 26
RESEARCHOBJECTIVES ................................................................................................................... 27
METHODS ......................................................................................................................................... 28
URBANFARMERSINTERVIEWED ............................................................................................................ 30
FINDINGS .......................................................................................................................................... 34
URBANAGRICULTURE ........................................................................................................................... 34 COMMUNITYRESPONSETOESTABLISHMENT .................................................................................................. 34 PERCEPTIONSOFURBANAGRICULTURE .......................................................................................................... 35 FUTUREOFURBANAGRICULTURE .................................................................................................................. 36 SELLINGOFPRODUCTS .................................................................................................................................. 37 QUALITYOFPRODUCTS ................................................................................................................................. 38 VOLUNTEERS ................................................................................................................................................ 39 WHATTHEWOMENENJOY ............................................................................................................................. 40 YOUTHINVOLVEMENT ................................................................................................................................... 41 PUERTORICANFOODSYSTEMANDFOODSOVEREIGNTY .......................................................................... 43 FOODSYSTEMINPUERTORICO ...................................................................................................................... 43 WOMENINURBANAGRICULTUREINPUERTORICO ......................................................................................... 44 FOODRESILIENCY ................................................................................................................................ 45 COLLABORATION .......................................................................................................................................... 45 CAPACITYBUILDING ..................................................................................................................................... 45 SUSTAINABILITY ........................................................................................................................................... 46 COMMUNITY ........................................................................................................................................ 46
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PARTICIPANTCHANGESOVERTIME ................................................................................................................ 46 SIGNIFICANCEOFWHATISGROWN ................................................................................................................ 47 WHOTHESPACEBELONGSTO ....................................................................................................................... 48 SIGNIFICANCEOFSHAREDSPACE ................................................................................................................... 48 SUPPORTOFGOVERNMENTANDHURRICANEMARIA ............................................................................... 49 RESPONSETOHURRICANEMARIA .................................................................................................................. 49 SUPPORTOFGOVERNMENT ........................................................................................................................... 52
DISCUSSION ...................................................................................................................................... 52
CONCLUSION .................................................................................................................................... 58
REFERENCES .................................................................................................................................... 60
APPENDIX ........................................................................................................................................... 70
APPENDIX 1: SURVEY QUESTIONS .............................................................................................................. 70
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Introduction
Urbanandperi-urbanagricultureisdefinedasthegrowingofhorticulturaltrees,
food,otheragriculturalproducts,andraisinglivestockwithinthebuiltareaorthefringes
ofacitybytheResourceCenterforUrbanAgricultureandForestry(RUAF,n.d.).Urban
agricultureisasystemthatpeoplelivinginurbanareasusetoincreasetheiraccessto
fresh,healthy,andsafefood.TheFoodandAgricultureOrganizationoftheUnitedNations
(FAO)foundthatin1999,800millionpeoplegloballywereengagedinsomesortofurban
orperi-urbanagriculturewithinandsurroundingurbanboundaries(2014).PertheFAO,
3.5billionpeoplearecurrentlylivingincitiesandby2030thatnumberisestimatedtobe5
billion(UnitedNationsSustainableDevelopmentGoals,n.d).Specifically,inLatinAmerica
andtheCaribbean,theurbanpopulationhasincreasedtoalmostonebillion,becomingthe
mosturbanizedregionintheworld(FAO,2014).Urbanpovertyhasremainedhigh,as80
percentofthepopulationofthisregionliveintownsandcities(FAO,2014).TheFAO
predictsthatoftheurbanpoor,women,andchildrenareparticularlyvulnerabletofood
insecurityduetotheirdependenceonfoodpurchasesandvariationsinfoodprices(FAO,
n.d.).Foodinsecuritycanalsobearesultfromadiminishingagriculturalsectorand
importingthemajorityoffoodconsumed,muchlikeinPuertoRico.Furthermore,not
enoughisknownaboutstrategiesused,especiallybyLatinas,togrowtheirownfoods.
PuertoRicoisanarchipelagointheCaribbeanSea(Mathews,Wagenheim,
Wagenheim,2020).Itisaself-governingCommonwealthoftheUnitedStates(Mathews,
Wagenheim,Wagenheim,2020).In2019,itwasestimatedthat3,193,694peoplelivedin
PuertoRico(UnitedStatesCensus,2020).Specifically,intheSanJuanMunicipality,there
wereanestimated318,441residents,whichis10percentoftheoverallpopulation.
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(UnitedStatesCensus,2020).Approximately93.6%ofthePuertoRicanpopulationlivesin
urbanareas(FAOSTAT,2018).
Thishighurbanpopulationexertspressureontheagriculturalfoodsystem,aswell
asotherindustries.Currently,PuertoRicoimportsanestimated85percentoftheir
agriculturalproducts(Robles&Sadurini,2017).Economicdevelopmentfocusingmostly
onmanufacturingcausedmanyPuertoRicanstomovefromthecountrysidetocitiesfor
jobs.ThisresultedinPuertoRicoimportingthemajorityofitsfoodsupplyovertime.
Despiteeconomicdevelopmentandhavingrelativelyhighersocialandeconomic
conditionsincomparisontootherLatinAmericanandCaribbeancountries,PuertoRicohas
highlevelsofpovertyandfoodsecurity(Mathews,Wagenheim,Wagenheim,2020).Itis
estimatedthatthemedianhouseholdincomeinPuertoRicofrom2014-2018was$20,166
(UnitedStatesCensus,2020).Comparatively,theU.S.statewiththelowestmedian
householdincome,Mississippi,was$43,567(UnitedStatesCensus,2020).Inaddition,
approximately43percentofpeopleinPuertoRicoliveinpoverty(UnitedStatesCensus,
2020).In2015,itwasestimatedthat32percentofPuertoRicansovertheageof18faced
foodinsecurity(Santiago-Torresetal.,2019).Incomparison,in2018theUnitedStates
DepartmentofAgriculturefoundthat11.1%ofhouseholdsfacedfoodsecurityatsome
pointduringtheyear(USDA,2018).Thisnumberisanaverageandcommunitiesofcolor
experiencefoodinsecurityatamuchlargerscale.In2018theUSDAfoundthat22%of
blackhouseholdsand16%ofHispanichouseholdsfacedfoodinsecurity;Pardillaand
colleagues(2014)foundthat76%oftheirsamplesizeintheNavajonationexperienced
foodinsecurity(Coleman-JensenA.,Gregory,C.,&Rabbitt,M.,2019).Genderisanother
wayinwhichfoodinsecuritydiffersinPuertoRicoandtheUnitedStates.Researchers
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foundthatPuertoRicanwomenfacedlargerratesoffoodinsecurity(47.6%)thanmen
(38.7%)(Santiago-Torresetal.,2019).IntheUnitedStates,womenalsofacelargerratesof
foodinsecuritythanmen,howevercurrentlythedataisnotseperatdbyrace,wecan
expectthatwomenofcolortofacehigherratesoffoodinsecurityduetothealreadyhigh
prevelanceoffoodinsecurityinmarginalizedcommunities.
Anotherformoffoodinsecuritymarginializedcommunitiesfaceisfooddeserts.
Generallyspeakingafooddessertisdefiniedasaneighborhoodthatlacksaccesstohealthy
foodsourcesandmayhavehigherpresenceofliquorstoresandfastfoodoptions(USDA,
n.d.).Fooddesertsarealsocommoninmarginalizedcommunites,forexampleonaverage
residentsoftheNavajoNationdriveonaverage3hoursforgroceriesPartnersinHealth,
2018).Thismeansthatthesecommunitieshaveageneralsenseofinstabilitywhenit
comestofood,theyneedtocarveout3hoursoftheirdaytogoandaquiregroceries,ifthey
don’ttheymaynothaveanythingtoeat.SimilarlyPuertoRicansalsofaceageneralsense
ofinstabilityandvulnerabilityduetothehighvolumeoffoodinports.(Santiago-Torreset
al.,2019)Thisinstabilityisgeneratedfrompeoplenotbeingsecureinthequantityof
productsavailableatgrocerystores.Inaddition,theonlywayofgettinganyproductsinto
PuertoRicoisonairplanesoronshipssoifsomethinghappenstoairportsordocks,food
availabilityinPuertoRicoisthreatened(Irizarry-Ruiz,2016).AfterHurricaneMaria,
PuertoRicanairportsandportswereseverelyaffected.Theairportterminalsfloodedand
therewasdebrisontherunways,portsdidn’timmediatelyopenandoncetheydid,they
werenotabletoworkatcapacityduetolackoffuel,affectedroads,andlackoflabor
(Dorsey,2017;Meyer,2017).Thismeansthatnotonlywerepeoplenotabletogetfoodbut
theywerealsonotabletodrivetostores,hospitals,andotheressentialservicesduetothe
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lackoffuelandaffectedroads.Thelossofjobsmeansthatpeoplehadnoideawhen,where,
andhowtheyweregoingtogettheirnextpaycheck.
Althoughunknown,wecanbeexpectlikeotherdisasters,thatafterHurricane
Maria,peopleexperiencedgreaterratesoffoodinsecurity.TheSurveyofFoodSecurityin
PuertoRicotookplacein2015;2yearsbeforeHurricaneMaria.OrvilleM.Disdier,
ExecutiveDirectoroftheInstituodeEstadísticas,predictedthatinthemonthsdirectlyafter
HurricaneMaria,ratesoffoodinsecuritywereevenhigher(VeraRosado,2019).Itisclear
thatPuertoRicansfacehigherratesoffoodinsecuritycomparedtotheaverageUS
household.Inaddition,thisstateoffoodinsecurityhasmorethanlikelyincreasedafter
HurricaneMaria.Itislikelythatthegenderedeffectsoffoodinsecurityremainedthesame
afterHurricaneMaria,withwomenbeingmorefoodinsecurethanmen.Thisgendered
effectoffoodinsecuritybeforeandafterHurricaneMariaisimportantbecausethis
highlightsthevulnerabilitythatwomenfaceinsocietybeforeandafterdisasters.For
example,womenwhoaresinglemotherswillbedisaproartnelyaffectedafteranatural
disasterincomparisontoanuclearfamilyof4.InPuertoRicothisisfurtherstratified
becausewomeninPuertoRicoaremorelikelytobetheprimaryearnersintheirfamilies.
Colón-Warren(2010)arguesthattheemploymentofPuertoRicanwomenhasincreased
autonomy,equity,andshiftsingenderroles,howeverithasalsoresultedinmorewomen
becomingtheprimaryearnerevenifthewomenismarried.Thisshiftinprimaryearner
statusdoesnottypicallychangeawomen’sworkloadathomeresultinginmoreworkand
pressureforwomeninPuertoRico(Lyon,Mutersbaugh,&Worthen,2016).However,inher
work,Colón-Warren(2010)foundthatmanywomenvaluedtheirjobsforothersocial
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benefitssuchasanincreasedsenseofpersonalworth,meetingpeople,andsocializingwith
peers.
Itisimportanttonotethatwhiledevelopmentstrategies,suchasmanufacturing
andpharmacuticals,inPuertoRicodidimprovethestatusofwomenandwerenotas
effectiveaspeoplehoped.ThedevelopmentofPuertoRico’seconomyinthe1940’sand
wellintothe1960’swasfocusedonmanufacturingandfactorywork.Theworkavailableto
womeninthesejobswaslowpayingandusedto“cushiontheimpactofconsequent
povertyandsocialinequity”(Colón-Warren&Alegría-Ortega,1998).Womenexperienced
povertyandgreatsocialinequityafterdevelopmentprojectsbecausetheseprojectswere
implementedwithhopesthattheywouldimprovetheeconomicsituationinPuertoRicoas
awhole,andnotsolelyfocusedonthelivesofmostvulnerablepeopleinsociety.Theshift
toamechanization-basedeconomyopenedupmanyjobopportunitiesforwomenthat
requiredlow-costlaborandthedexterityoffemaleworkers(Colón-Warren&Alegría-
Ortega,1998).However,thesejobopportunitiesdidnotnecessarilymeanthesewerehigh
qualityjobs.Mostofthejobsbeingoccupiedbywomenareatlowerlevelsof
administrativeandprofessionalsectors,continuingandperpetuatinggenderinequity
(Colón-Warren&Alegría-Ortega,1998).Thisinequityisincreasedforless-educatedmen
andwomenwhodonothavethetrainingtoworkinhigh-techandfinancialservices
sectorsthatarebecomingincreasinglypopularinPuertoRico(Colón-Warren&Alegría-
Ortega,1998).Itisalsoimportanttonotethatthecurrentdebtcrisisandausterity
measurestakingplaceinPuertoRicoputwomeninanincreasedvulnerableposition.In
1998,Colón-WarrenandAlegría-Ortegafoundthatreductionsingovernment
employmentsresultedinmorewomenbeingaffectedthanmen.Oneimportantideathat
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Colón-WarrenandAlegría-Ortega(1998)pointoutisthesocialandeconomicimportance
ofdomesticworkandtheextraworkburdenthatwomenmustendurewhentheyenterthe
workforce.Whileurbanandperi-urbanagriculturewillnotbearemedyforallpoverty
issues,itcanbeusedasamethodtohelpwomengenerateextraincomeforthemselvesand
providehealthyfoodforthemselvesandfamilyandperhapsincreaseempowerment.
Hereinliestheimportanceofurbanandperi-urbanagriculture:whencountriesface
largeratesoffoodinsecurity,urbanagriculturecanbeusedtoprovidepeoplewithnot
onlyfreshfoodbutalsotheopportunitytosellthatfood.Itiswidelyknownthatthe
majorityofhumanstakingpartinurbanagriculturearewomen(FAO,2013).However,not
enoughisknownaboutwhythemajorityofthehumanstakingpartinthisactivityare
women.Specificallywhataretheexperienceofminoritywomen:Latinas,Blackwomen,
Indigenouswomen,womeninthedevelopingworld,andlow-incomewomen.Wedon’t
understandtheirexperiences,thebenefitsandchallengestheyencounter,thesignificance
oftheurbanfarms,andwhatisorcouldbelostintheeventofanaturaldisaster.Their
experiencesofthesewomenwillbefardifferentthanthoseofawhitewomenlivingina
countrylikeBelgiumduetorace,gender,andclassstructures.Furthermore,thisresearch
centerstheexperiencesofLatinasbecauseLatinasareimportantfixturesateverypartof
ourfoodsystem.
ThisresearchseekstouncovertheexperiencesofwomeninSanJuan,PuertoRico
involvedinurbanagriculture.ThisresearchwasinspiredbytheworkthatDr.Maria
Calixta-OrtizandherteamdidontheirGuidelineforTheDevelopmentofCommunity-Based
UrbanOrchardsinPuertoRico(2018).Furthermoremostoftheirresearchwasbefore
HurricaneMariaandalsodidn’taddressgenderissuesinurbanagriculture.
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FirstIwillreviewrelevantliteratureonurbanagriculture,PuertoRico,andgender
anddisasters.ThenIwillgooverthetheortoritcalframeworkthatisguidingthisresearch.
FollowingthisIdescribemypostionalityandhowthatinfluncesmyresearch.Iwillthen
describethemethodsusedtoconducttheresearch.Lastely,Isharemyfindingsand
concludewithreccomendatins.
LiteratureReview
PuertoRico
PuertoRicohasbeenpartoftheUnitedStatessince1898,whentheUnitedStates
acquiredthearchipelagoattheendoftheSpanish-AmericanWar(Carro-Figueroa,2002).
PuertoRico’spopulationfollowssimilartrendsthroughoutLatinAmericaandthe
Caribbeaninthatmostpeopleontheislandliveinurbanareas.Infact,93percentofthe
populationlivesinurbanareas(FAO,n.d.).Approximately10percentofthepopulation
livesintheSanJuanMunicipality.
PuertoRicoproducedasubstantialamountofitsownfoodupuntilthe1950’s
(Carro-Figueroa,2002).Afterthe1950’s,PuertoRico’sagriculturalproductiondecreased
astheeconomyshiftedtowardsothersectors.Section936oftheInternalRevenueCode
wascreatedin1976,exemptingUScompaniesfrompayingfederaltaxesonprofitsearned
inPuertoRico(Meléndez&Venator-Santiago,2018).Bythe1990’spharmaceuticaland
manufacturingwerestaplejobprovidersontheisland,replacingagricultureandSection
936workedasenvisioned(Meléndez&Venator-Santiago,2018).In1996,a10-yearphase
outofSection936began,inordertosupportsmallbusinesses(Meléndez&Venator-
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Santiago,2018).WhenSection936wasineffect,theeconomygrewatasteadypaceup
untilthephaseoutperiod(Meléndez&Venator-Santiago,2018).Arecessionsoonfollowed
andPuertoRicocontinuestobeinarecessiontothisday.
Duringthistimeperiod,asmanufacturingincreasedthroughouttheisland,sodid
foodimports.In2017,PuertoRicoimported85percentoftheirfood(Robles&Sadurní,
2017).In1938,theislandstillproduced65percentofthetotalquantityoffoodconsumed
(Carro-Figueroa,2002inHillandNoguera,1940)andin1951therewasslightdecreaseto
59percentofthetotalquantityoffoodconsumedwasgrowninPuertoRico(Carro-
Figueroa,2002inNazario&Diaz-Cruz,1952).In1980,theproductionoffoodconsumed
ontheislandtookasharpdecreaseto30to40percent(Dietz,1982).Itiswithoutadoubt
thatasPuertoRicoturnedtowardsamoreindustrializedeconomytherewasashiftfrom
agriculturalproductioninthecountrytomanufacturingandfactoryproduction.Dietz
(1986)writes“Yet,thechoiceneednothavebeeneitheragricultureorindustry;itcould
havebeenamixofagricultureandindustry,andofindustryinagriculture,alongwith
selectivemanufacturing”.Thisdismissaloftheagriculturalindustryisstillreflectedtoday
inthelownumberoffarmsinPuertoRicoandthepercentagethatagriculturemakesofthe
totalGDP.Accordingtothe2012FarmCensusPuertoRicotherewere13,159farmsin
2012,adecreasefrom15,745farmsaccountedforin2007(USDA,2012).Thisisperhaps
duetotheeconomicstagnationontheislandwithmanypeoplearemovingtomainland
UnitedStatesorurbanareasinPuertoRico.MostfarmsinPuertoRicoaresmallholder
farms;39percentarelessthan10cuerdas(1cuerda=.97acre)andanadditional21
percentarelessthan50cuerdas.Thereare12,066farmsinPuertoRicowheremenarethe
principaloperatorsand1,093inwhichtheprincipaloperatorisawoman(USDA,2012).
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Theeconomicshiftontheislandhashadasignificantimpactintheindustriesthatwomen
primarilyworkintothisday.
UrbanandPeri-UrbanAgriculture
Urbanandperi-urbanagriculture(UPA)canbeanimportanttechniqueusedtohelp
feedthegrowingpopulation.Astheglobalpopulationbecomesincreasinglyurbanized,
solutionstofeedagrowingpopulationareneeded.UPAproductsarenormallyperishable
yethighvalueandincludeproductslikevegetables,mushrooms,eggs,andproteinsources
(DeZeeuwetal.,2011).ThereareconcernsthatUPAhastheabilitytocompetewithrural
agriculture,howevertheyeachhavedistinctcharacteristics:UPAproducesmore
vegetablesandfruitswhileruralagricultureproducesmostofourfoodstaplessuchascorn
orwheat(Dubbelingetal,2017).Someofthepositiveresults(Zezza&Tasciotti,2010)
foundfromurbanhouseholdsengagedinUPAare:foodsecurity,diversediet,and
increasedvegetableconsumptionincomparisontohouseholdsnotengagedinUPA.
UPAisalsobeneficialforneighborsoffolksinvolvedinUPAbecausefarmersoften
sellsurplusintheircommunities(DeZeeuwetal.,2011).However,intheirresearchZezza
andTasciotti(2010)foundthatincomegenerationfromUPAwasonlysignificantinAfrican
countriesandthepoorerpopulationsinNepalandVietnam.Warrenandcolleagues(2015)
foundthatUPAwascommonamonglow-incomehouseholdsparticularlyintimesofcrisis
orshock.UPAisanactivityinwhichpoorurbanhouseholdsaredisproportionately
represented,duetoitsabilitytogeneratequickincome(Zezza&Tasciotti,2010).Urban
agriculturehasbeenopposedbynationalandlocalauthoritiesoverconcernsofhealthand
environmentalrisksthatcommunitymembersmightbeexposedto(DeZeeuwetal.,2011).
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Themainareasofconcernarecontaminatedwaterandtheuseofagrochemicalsinclose
proximitytohumans.Economically,UPAmaynothavethelargestimpactonahousehold,
butitstillremainsasurvivalstrategyfortheurbanpoor(DeZeeuwetal.,2011).
UPAcanbedesignedinawayinwhichitcanbeapublicgoodandbeneficiariesare
notexcluded(DeBonetal.,2008).UPAnormallyutilizeslandthatotherwisewouldbe
consideredundesirablesuchaslandunderoverpassesorlandthathasbeenabandoned(
Kaufaman&Bailkey,2000).InthiswayUPAincreasestheuseoflandincitiesthat
otherwisewouldnothaveanyoutputs,physicallyoreconomically.Besidesphysicalor
economicaloutputs,UPAprojectsalsocreateotherintangiblevaluablethings:senseof
communityandaplacetogather.Inadditiontothenutritionalandeconomicimpactsthat
UPAhasoncommunities,italsoplaysaroleintheinclusionofvulnerablegroupsofsociety
(elderly,refugees,women)withwhichtheycangeneratetheeconomiccapitalthatmay
resultinproduce,confidence,andentrepreneurialism(Bailkeyetal,2007).ManyUPA
publicationsmentiongenderinpassing,howevernoneofthemembarkonadeeper
understandingastowhywomenmakeupthemajorityofpeopleinvolvedinUPA.Thisis
whyresearchcenteringtheexperiencesofwomeninvolvedinurbanagricultureis
importantandneeded,specifficallyinlower-incomecountries.
UrbanagricultureandLatinAmerica
Urbanandperi-urbanagriculturalprojectsvaryinsize,scope,andgoalsthroughout
LatinAmericaandtheCaribbean.Taguchi(2015),writesthat,inLatinAmerica,UPAgrew
outofanecessityforfoodsecurityandeachcountryhasdevelopedpoliciesthatwouldbest
servetheircountry.TheUNFAOwroteareportonUPAinLatinAmericaandtheCaribbean
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titled,“GrowingGreenerCitiesinLatinAmericaandtheCaribbean”.Theysurveyed23outof
27countriesintheregionin2013.Intheirresearch,theyfoundthatUPAiscommon
throughouttheregion,notingthat“20percentofhouseholdsinGuatemalapracticeUPA,
50,000familiesinBoliviaarefoodproducers,and8,500familiesinColombiagrowsomeof
theirownproduce”(FAO,2014).Theyfoundthatfamilygardensarecommonincountries
throughouttheCaribbeanandinurbanareasofColombia,Ecuador,Nicaragua,andPeru
(FAO,2014).Asidefromgrowingfruitsandvegetables,someurbanfarmersalsoraisesmall
animalsasasourceofprotein.Intheirreport,theFAO(2014)notesthaturbanfarmers
comefromavarietyofdifferentbackgroundsbutmostarelow-income.
DespitethepopularityofUPA,thereisalackofUPApolicyintheLatinAmerican
region.Outofthe23countriessurveyedonly12hadpoliciesthatexplicitlypromoteUPA;8
ofthosewereintheCaribbean(FAO,2014).Thecountrieswerenotexplicitlynamedand
neitherweretheextentofthosepolicies.InQuito,Ecuador,ClavijoandParades(2015)
foundthaturbanfarmsthatareapartofthecityrunprogramAGRUPAR(ElProyectode
AgriculturalUrbanaParticipativeorTheUrbanAgricultureParticipationProject)hadhigher
ratesofculturaladaptabilityandmoreknowledgeonorganicfarmingthatotherurban
farms.TheypredictthatthisisbecauseAGUAPARprovidesmoretechnicalsupportforits
farmers(Clavijo&Parades,2015).
Oneofthemaingoalsofurbanagricultureistoincreasefoodsecurityinurban
areas.Dubbelingandcolleagues(2017)foundthatnearly50percentofproductsgrown
weresoldinfarmersmarketsawayfromproducers.Whileitisimportantthaturban
farmershavetheopportunitytogenerateextraincomefromtheirgardens,itisimportant
thattheyfirstensuretheirownfoodsecurity.SuccessfulUPAprojectsarecharacterizedby
18
farmer-to-farmertraining,consideringthelocalpeople’sopinions,andfrequenttrainings
forurbanfarmers(Franklin,2010;Lovo,Falcão,&Lopes,2015;Joshi&Velasco,2015).Itis
importantforprojectorganizerstoemphasizetoparticipantstheimportanceofincreasing
foodsecurityandavailabilitytothecommunitybeforetheyuseitasameanstogenerate
income.Inaddition,participantshavetheabilitytopassongenerationalandcommunal
knowledgeofworkingwiththeearth.UPAprojectscanrangefromindividualplotsat
hometocommunitygardens.Successfulonesareonesinwhichlocalpeople’sopinionsand
needsareconsideredandcateredto.Additionally,thesustainabilityoftheprojectis
assuredwhenparticipantsteachothermembersofthecommunitytheskillstheylearned
throughtheproject.Thisway,adiversenumberofcommunitymembers,includingwomen,
canstarttheirownurbangardens.
UrbanandPeri-UrbanAgricultureandWomen
ManyUPAprojectshavegreatparticipationratesamongstwomen.AnFAOreport
foundthat,inthemajorityofprojectstheyobserved,mostoftheparticipantswerewomen,
eveniftheprojectsweregearedtothecommunityatlarge(2014).Women-ledurbanfarms
totaled90percentinManagua,86percentinHaiti,70percentinBelizeCity,and25
percentinQuito(FAO,2014).Traditionalgenderrolesdictatethatwomenmustprepare
foodfortheirhouseholds.Thismightbethereasonforthelargerateofparticipation
amongwomeninUPA,toensuretheirhouseholdhasenoughfood.
Boserup(1970)writesthatwhenwomenmovefromruralareastourbanareas,
theyareexpectedtoworktokeepupwiththehighcostsassociatedwithlivinginthecity
andsincemostoftheirmoneyisspentonfood,thereisincentivetogrowtheirown.
19
Additionally,thereisalsotheappealofbeingabletosellextraproduce.InanUPAproject
inJamaica,projectmanagersweremoreeasilyabletorecruitwomentoraisechickenthan
vegetables,becausetheywouldmakemoremoneysellingpoultry(Valstar,1999).The
womeninthatprojectweredrawntotheideaofgeneratingextramoneyfromtheproject
andnotnecessarilyincreasingfoodsecuritywithintheirhomes.Incontrast,inHaiti,
womenweredrawntoanurbanagricultureprojecttoincreasefoodavailabilityintheir
homestoimprovenutrition(Vansteenkiste,2014).Awomanwasquotedsaying,“Our
great-grandparentslivedlonglives.Nowkidsaresick;twelveandthirteenyearsoldsare
gettingsick.Itistheimportedprocessedfoodthatismakingussickandbecauseweareno
longereatingfreshfood”(Vansteenkiste,2014).Inthisproject,themaingoalwastohelp
womennolongerfaceinjusticesintheirlivesandencouragewomentoparticipateinmore
socio-economicactivities(Vansteenkiste,2014).However,Haitainwomenhadahardtime
understandingtheoverallgoalofthembecomingmoreautonomousandcommunity
leaders(encouragingthemteachotherwomentostarttheirowngardens).Theydidnot
seehowthegardenscouldbeameanstogainmoreagencyandshattergendernorms.
Womenfromtheprojectpaidmentobuildtheraisedbedsrequiredforthegardens
becauseitwasconsideredmen’swork(Vansteenkiste,2014).Thelackoforganizationand
clarificationofobjectivestomeettheirgoalshinderedtheprojectsopportunitytoreachits
fullpotentialintermsofequity.
GenderandDisaster
Whennaturaldisastersoccur,noteveryoneisequallyaffected(EnarsonE.,
1998;Austin,K.&McKinneyL.,2016;Enarson,E.,Fothergill,A.,&Peek,L.,2017;Fothergill,
20
A.,&PeekL.,2004;Jordan,E.,Javernick-Will,A.,&Tierney,K.,2016).Somepeoplelose
everythingduetothewaysinwhichtheirhomeswereconstructedandsomepeoplehave
enoughmoneytofleetheirhomestosafety.TheCaribbeanspecifically,isbecomingmore
vulnerabletonaturaldisasterswithincreasedoccurrence,frequency,andstrengthof
hurricanes(Deare,2004).Whenlookingattheeffectsofnaturaldisastersthrougha
genderedlens,womenaremoreimpactedbynaturaldisasters.Acountry’sdevelopment
andvulnerabilityareinfluencedbythesocio-economicpositionandconditionsbeforea
naturaldisasterandwomenandchildrenaretheoneshardestaffectedduetotheirprior
vulnerability(Deare,2004).
Vulnerabilityisaconceptthatconsidersthedifferencesamongpeopleanduncovers
thecircumstancesthatcanchangefromanevent,likeanaturaldisaster,andhighlightthe
lackofresourcesthataremagnifiedinanaturaldisaster(Bradshaw,2014).Juran(2019)
writes,“Thus,whilethepost-disasterarenavariesgreatlyfrom‘normaltime’the
overarchingparallelisthatdisparitiesthatexistedbeforethedisasterareperpetuatedand
exacerbatedbothduringandafterthedisaster”.Farmsandfarmersexperiencesignificant
lossesafterdisastersduetotheextremechangeinweatherpatterns.Forpeoplethat
dependsontheirfarmsfortheirlivelihood,naturaldisastershavethepotentialtodestroy
theireconomicsecurityinthepresentandinthefuture.InNicaragua,afterHurricane
Mitch,peoplesurveyedweremoreconcernedabouttheirproductionlossesincomparison
tolossesinsubsistencecapacity(Bradshaw,2014).Inaddition,Bradshaw(2014),found
that32percentoffemale-headedhouseholdsdidnotplanttheyearafterthehurricane,in
comparisonto23percentofmale-headedhouseholds.Noinformationisavailablefor
backyardagriculturalproduction,howeverthevalueoflossineggproductionwas
21
estimatedbetween$90,000-$120,000permonth(Bradshaw,2014).Womenaremore
likelytobeemployedintheinformalsector,likesellingeggsfromhome,whichmeansthat
afteradisastertheyaremoreaffectedduetothedisruptionsincommunicationsand
transportation(TheWorldBank,2001).
Womenplayimportantrolesinpost-disastercleanupandsearchingforfood,
howevertheireffortsarenotvaluedandforgottenbymen(Bradshaw,2014).The
minimizationofwomen’scontributiontopostdisastercleanupissignificantbecause
womenhavelargersocialnetworksthatcanbemorehelpfulthanmen.Whenthereisno
crisisoccurring,women’ssocialnetworksarenotvalued.TheWorldBank(2001)found
thatinHondurasafterHurricaneMitch,thesocialnetworksofwomenwereimportantfor
peopletorebuildandaccessresource(2001).Anotherwaywomenandmenare
disadvantagedafteradisasteristheymayhavetopayforhiredlaborontheirfarmsforany
damagedsustained,howeverwomenaremoreadverselyaffected,duetolowerincomeand
repairstakingupalargerpercentoftheirearnings(Deare,2004).Theprocessofobtaining
fundingandaidislonganddaunting,thuswomenmaynotwanttoengageintheprocess
(Juran,2012).Ifawomanhasabusinessandalsoneedstogothroughtheprocessforher
ownpersonalhome,shemayopttonotdoitforherbusiness.Thisaffectsherfutureand
potentialtohaveeconomicsecurity.Thereisusuallyverylittleassessmentabouttheloss
ofwomenrunbusinesses(Juran,2012).Itisuncleariftheseareformalorinformal
businesses,howeveritisclearthatmoreattentionshouldbepaidtowomenoperated
businessesregardlessiftheyareformalorinformal.Approachestobetterpreparefor
disastersmustintegratethelivelihoodsofwomenintotheirplansandbemoreproactive.
22
Urbanagriculturecanbeutilizedbyindividualsorcommunitiesforanarraryof
reasonsincludingincomegeneratingactivitiesandbetteraccesstolocallyproducedfoods
Thisisespeciallyimportantforvulnerablecommunitiesandcountriesthatimportalotof
theirfood,likePuertoRico.Womenareanimportantandvitalpartofurbanagriculture,
howeverlittleisknownabouttheirexperiences.Therefore,womeninvolvedinurban
agriculturemustbefurtherresearchedtounderstandtheirperspectivesandexpertiseon
urbanagriculture.Furthermore,theycanprovideinsightonimportantorientedfood
system,likePuertoRico’sdependencyonfoodimportsfromtheUnitedStates.
TheoreticalFrameworks
DependencyTheory
Theeconomicprojectionofcountrieslike,PuertoRico,whohaveincreased
industrializationbutstillrelyonanoutsidecountryfornecessitiesandothergoodshas
beenstudiedindepthbydevelopmentscholars,
specifically,DependencyTheoryscholars(Henrique
Cardoso,F.,&Faletto,E.,1971;Prebisch,R.,1959;&
Gunder-Frank,A.,1966).DependencyTheorystatesthat
whilemetropolesaredeveloped,thesatellitesare
underdeveloped.(Gunder-Frank,1966).Thisisaresult
ofperiphery(satellite)countriesprovidinglowercost
rawmaterialsorservicetothecore(metropoles),whoproducehighercostindustrial
Figure 1 :Dependency Theory Framework
23
products(Figure11.)Inaddition,RaulPrebischaddsthatthebenefitsofincreased
productivityhavenothadthesamepositiveeffectoncountriesintheperiphery(satellite)
incomparisontocountriesthatarethemetropoles(1959).
Despitethesameconclusionoftheunequaldistributionofpowerbetween
metropolesandsatellites,PrebischandGunder-Frankdisagreeonhowacountycan
achieveeconomicsuccess.Gunder-FrankarguesthatcountriesinLatinAmericahave
experiencedtheirgreatesteconomicgrowthwhentiestoforeigncountriesaretheweakest
(1966).PrebischbelievesthatLatinAmericashouldusetheirabundanceofnaturaland
rawmaterialstoincreaseeconomicdevelopmentthroughoutcountries.Hewrites,“The
moreactiveLatinAmerica’sforeigntrade,thegreaterthepossibilityofincreasing
productivitybymeansofintensivecapitalformation”(1959).Thisisjuxtapositionwith
Gunder-Frank’soverallbeliefthatcapitalismwasnotworkinginfavorofLatinAmerica’s
development.Despitethesedifferences,bothscholarsbelievedthatinordertofind
solutionsfortheunderdevelopmentinLatinAmerica,peoplemustframetheproblemsand
issuesinthecontextofthecountrybeingworkedin.Prebischwrote,“ThecaseoftheLatin-
Americancountriesmustthereforebepresentedclearly,sothatinterests,aspirations,and
opportunities,bearinginmindofcourse,theindividualdifferencesandcharacteristics…”
(1959).Gunder-Frankechoedsimilarthoughtswriting,“…neitherthepastnorthe
presentoftheunderdevelopedcountriesresemblesinanyimportantrespectthepastof
thenowdevelopedcountries.Thenowdevelopedcountrieswereneverunderdeveloped,
thoughtheymighthavebeenundeveloped”(1966).However,bothauthorsagreethat
1 Figure 1 is adapted from Gunder-Frank and Prebich’s work.
24
exploitativenatureoftradebetweencountriescanbedetrimentaltothelessdeveloped
one.
Inthiscase,theUnitedStateswouldbethemetropoleandPuertoRicowouldbethe
satellite.Historically,PuertoRicoprovidedtheUnitedStateswithcheapagricultural
commodities,likesugarandtobacco.Thentheislandbecameasourceofcheaplaborfor
factories,andcurrentlymanufacturingpharmaceuticalsandtheserviceindustrymakeup
mostoftheireconomicsectors.Itiswidelybelievedthatinorderforacountrytoachieve
thestatusofa“developed”nation,an“underdeveloped”nationmustallowtheinfiltration
offoreigncapital,values,andinstitutionsfromthemetropoles(Gunder-Frank,1966).In
PuertoRico,thehistoricalinfluxofforeigncapitalandvalueshashadmanyunintended
consequencessuchaslowermedianhouseholdincomesandgreaterpovertyandfood
insecurityamongwomen,asnotedintheIntroduction.Thecurrentpathofeconomic
developmentisextractive,exploitative,andenforcesanunequalpowerdynamicasseen
betweentheUnitedStatesandPuertoRico.“Economicreformsbasedontheideaof
limitlessgrowthinalimtedworldcanonlybemaintainedifthepowerfulgrabthe
resourcesofthevulnerable”(Mies&Shiva,2014).Thisimbalanceofpowermanifestsitself
intheinabilityofPuertoRicanwomentofindandaffordlocallyproductedfreshfruitsand
vegetablesbecausethemajorityofthefoodisimportedduetothemechanized-oriented
economytheUnitedStatesstructured.
25
FeministTheoreticalFramework
Feministstandpointtheoryisaframeworkusedthatcentersthelivedexperiences,
subjectivity,andknowledgeofaspecificpersonandarguesthatthepersonisthemost
knowledgeableonthatsubjectorlivedexperience(Bowell,n.d.).Forinstance,women
haveacquireddifferentknowledgeoncertainsubjects,likefarming,duetotheirstatusas
womenandtheirperceptionandknowledgeofitwilldifferfrommen’sduetotheir
genderedposition.Inaddition,feministstandpointtheoryarguesthatresearchshouldbe
focusedonhegemonicrelationshipsandshouldcenterthelivesofmarginalizedpeople
(Bowell,n.d.).FeministscholarslikeNancyHartstock,SandraHarding,DonnaHaraway,
andPatriciaHillsCollinsadvocateintheirscholarshiptheimportanceofcenteringthelived
experiencesofwomenandplaceingthatknowledgeatthecenterofresearchinquiry
(e.g.,Haraway1988,Harding,1993;HillsCollins,1997).Whatthesescholarsargueisthat
positionsthatwomenoccupyinsocietyinformthewaysinwhichtheyseetheworld,
interactwithpeopleinpower,andhowtheyapproachissuesandproblemsolving.Sandra
Hardingwrote,“Startingoffresearchfromwomen’sliveswillgeneratelesspartialand
distortedaccountsnotonlyofwomen’slivesbutalsoofmen’slivesandofthewholesocial
order”(1993).
Womenindifferentindustrieswillalsohavedifferentexperiences,challenges,and
solutionsthanthoseofmen,particularlywomenofcolor.Muchoftheresearchthatisdone
centersaroundurbanagricultureandsometimesthecommunity,completelydisregarding
genderstructures.Puttingthefocusonwomen’sworkallowsresearcherstohaveamore
holisticandaccurateunderstandingoftheadvantages,challenges,andbenefitsofurban
agriculture.Hardingaddsthatstandpointtheorydemonstrateshowasocialdisadvantage
26
canbeturnedintoascientificadvantage,amongotherthings(2004).Thisframeworkis
mostappropriateforthisresearchbecausethewomeninPuertoRicothatareurban
farmersaremuchmoreknowledgeabethanIonwhattheirexperienceshavebeen,why
theseprojectsstarted,andmuchmore.Itistheirnarrativesthatwilldrivemy
understanding.Thesewomenarestrong,wise,andcapablewomenhowever,thelackof
governmentandattimes,volunteersupportleadstowomenworkingmorethanthey
mighthaveanticipatedandthisworkseekstohighlightthemandgivethemagencyby
centeringtheirvoices.
Positionality
Inqualitativeresearchitisimportanttoaddressbiasandismyresponsibilityin
ordertoestablishtransparency,trustworthiness,andaccountabilitywiththereadersand
thewomenIinterviewed.ForthepurposeofthisstudyitisimportanttonotethatIama
24-year-oldChicanafromalow-incomebackground.Iamcurrentlypursuingagraduate
degreeinInternationalAgriculturalDevelopmentandpreviouslypursuedundergraduate
degreesinAgriculturalBusinessandLatinAmericanStudies.Thisresearchstemsfroma
commitmenttogenderequity,findingalternativeandnonconventionalwaystoincrease
foodsecurity,accessibility,andsovereignty.Inaddition,thisresearchfocusesonLatinas
becauseLatinasareimportantfixturesatallpartsofthefoodsystem,andlargelynot
focusedon.SinceIalsoidentifyasaLatinaandcanspeakSpanish,itcreatedasenseofease
andcomfortbetweenmyselfandthewomenIinterviewed.Itispossiblethatthewomen
mighthavebeenmorecomfortablearoundmesinceIamMexican-American.Therewerea
fewtimeswhenwomenreferredtomeasonlyMexican.However,itisimportanttonote
27
thatwhilePuertoRicancultureandMexicanculturehavesomesimilarities,therearealot
ofdifferencesstartingwithdistinctgeographicandregionaldifferences.Inadditionbothof
ourculturesmustdealwiththepressurestoassimilateintothedominatecultureofthe
UnitedStates.HoweverPuertoRican’shaveamuchdifferentrelationshiptothisdueto
theirroleasaseparatenation-statewithperhapssimilarbutdistinctvaluesandculture.
Inordertointegratemyselfbetter,IusedtypicalPuertoRicanwordsformanyitems
includingurbangardens(HuertosUrbanos)andfamiliarizedmyselfwithstaplefooditems
andmadesuretoaskquestionsabouttheirsignificance.Itisimportanttoalsoaddthat
whileinPuertoRicoIhadaguide,EvaBayona.EvarecentlygraduatedwithherMaster’sin
EnvironmentalPlanningandhadworkedonCalitxtaOrtizandcolleagues’(2018)guidefor
huertosinSanJuan.Herfamiliaritywiththetopicandsubjecthelpedmetosetup
interviewsbecauseshehadpreviouslyworkedwiththemandsheeditedmyquestionsto
makethemmoreunderstandableinPuertoRicanSpanish.
Finally,asmuchasIcouldtrytoremovepowerimbalancesbetweenmyselfandthe
womenIinterviewed,theinadequateandcatastrophicresponsebytheUnitedStates
governmentinthewakeofHurricaneMaria,mayhaveinfluencedmydecisiontogoto
PuertoRicoandresearchthesignificanceofthesespaces.
ResearchObjectives
Theoverallobjectiveofthisresearchwastounderstandtherolethathuertosurbanosplay
inthelivesofwomenandthecommunities.Specifically,thefollowingresearchquestions
wereaimedataddressingthesebroadquestions:
• Whatarethewomen’slivedexperiencesbeinginvolvedinhuertos?
28
• Whataresomeofthechallengesandbenefitsexperiencedbywomeninvolvedin
huertos?
• Whatisthesignificanceofthesehuertostothewomeninvolved?
• WhatarewomenperspectivesandexperienceswiththePuertoRicofoodsystem?
• Whatislostorcouldbelostintheeventofnaturaldisaster,inrelationtothe
huerto?
Methods
TheresearchinthispapertookplaceinurbanfarmsthroughoutSanJuan,Puerto
Rico.IwasinPuertoRicofromJuly11th,2019toAugust9th,2019.Iconductedsemi-
structuredin-depthinterviewswithninewomen,interviewslastedbetween45minutes
andonehourand45minutes.Purposivesnowballsampalingwasusedtoidentifywomen,
whowerealldistinctlyinvolvedindifferentareasofurbanagricultureinSanJuan.The
womenlistedbelowarethewomenIinterviewed.Intervieweeswereasked13open-
endedquestions.Themethodologyandtoolsusedforthisresearchareinfluencedby
ParticipatoryActionResearch(PAR).Chambers(1994)describesparticipatoryaction
researchas,“anapproachandmethodforlearningaboutrurallifeandconditionsfrom,
withandbyruralpeople”(pg.1).Thisapproachcanbeusedtolearnaboutalltypesof
peopleregardlessofwheretheylive.MostofthewomeninterviewedareKeyInformants,
expertsofurbanagriculture.Theinterveiwquestionswereallcategorizedunder
distinctivethemesIwantedtoaddressinmyresearch.Thethemeswere:
v UrbanAgriculture
29
v Disasterresponse
v Foodresiliency
v Foodsovereigntyandchangesinthefoodsystem
v Communitysupport
Withinthesethemesandtheirdistinctquestions,IhadsubthemesthatIhopedeach
womanwouldaddress.Forexample,intheresponsetotheurbanagriculturequestionsI
hopedthatsubthemesaddressedwouldbe:
o Influence
o Knowledgebeforefarming
o Decidingwhattoplant
o Supportfromsocialnetwork
o Sellingsurplus
o Benefitsfromurbanfarm
Havingthislistofsubthemes,Ihopedwouldbeaddressedintheinterviewallowed
fortopicstobebroachednaturallyasopposedtoaskingdirectquestionsonthetopics.
OriginallyquestionswerewritteninEnglishandthentranslatedintoSpanish.Uponarrival
inPuertoRicomyguide,Eva,alsomadesomelanguagechangesthatwouldbeunderstood
betterinPuertoRicanSpanish.
AnotherPARtoolthatwasusedinmyinterviewsweretransectwalks.Transects
walksaredescribedbyChambers(1994)as,“walkingwithlocalpeoplethroughanarea,
observing,asking,listening,discussing,identifyingdifferentzones,soils,landuses,
vegetation,crops,livestock,localandintroducedtechnologies,etc.”.InSanJuan,transect
walkswereusedtoobtainadeeperknowledgeofthehuertoitself,theimportantfoodsthat
30
wereplanted,landuse,problemsareas,uniquecharacteristicstoeachhuerto,andmuch
more.Thesetransectwalksinpartnershipwiththeinterviewscreatedamoreholistic
interviewprocess.Duringthetransectwalks,informationdiscussedduringtheinterview
wouldbereinforced.Specificspacesintheirhuertoswouldremindthewomenofother
topicsthatwouldhaveotherwisenotcomeupduringtheinterview.Iftheinterviewwas
conductedatthehuerto,atransectwalktookplacebeforeorafterthesit-downinterview.
MostinterviewswerejustmeandthepersonIinterviewed;however,insomecases,there
werevolunteersatthehuertoorneighborsthatwouldstopbyandchat.Whilethecontent
ofwhattheseexternalpeoplesaidisnotincludedinthescopeofthispaper,itallowedfor
metoseethedynamicandsocialnatureofthesehuertos.Alloftheinterviewsconducted
wereinSpanish.DuetotheshortnatureofmystayinPuertoRicoandpeoples’schedules
someoftheinterviewswereconductedoverthecomputerlater
UrbanFarmersInterviewed
PuertoRicoisadiverseislandfullofmultiracialpeople.Muchofitspopulationhasa
combinationofBlack,Taino,andEuropeanancestry.Thisdiverseancestryresultsin
significantphenotypicvariation(Landale&Oropresa,2002).Havingacomplexbackground
assuchmakesitdifficultforpeopletochoosearacethattheyidentifywith.In2014,58
percentofPuertoRicansidentifiedasWhitetotheUnitedStatesCensus(VargasRamos,
2016).ThatsameyearthesecondmostpopularoptionwasthecategorySomeOtherRace,
26percentofPuertoRicanschoosethiscategory,choosingtowriteinPuertoRicanor
Boricua(VargasRamos,2016).PuertoRicanswhoidentifiedasblackin2014were
approximately7percent(VargasRamos,2016).Furthermore,duetosystemsandsocietal
31
inequitiesthroughuttheworlditcanbeexpectedthatpeoplewhoidentifyasblackorfolks
thathavedarkerskinaremorelikelytofacemorehardshipsthanwhitePuertoRicans.
VargasRamoswrites“…theexpectionforthepresentanalysisisthatnon-whitePuerto
RicanswillnotpreformaswellaswhitePuertoRicansalonganumberofsocioeconomic
indicatiorsbothinPuertoRicoandtheUnitedStates”.InthisstudyIdidn’taskthewomen
howtheyidentify.Lookingbackatit,IwishIwouldhave.However,asanoutsiderofthis
communityitisnotuptometodecidewhichoftheseladiesisaBlackPuertoRicanora
WhitePuertoRican.Asaresultinthedescriptionbelowracewillnotbementioned.I
interviewedthefollowingwomen,nameshavebeenchangedtoprotectconfidentialityand
inaccordancewithbestresearchpractices.
VictoriawasthefirstpersonIinterviewed.Shebroughtadifferentperspective
abouturbanagricultureduetoherexperienceworkingasaprojectmanagerbutalsoasan
individualwhowasveryenvironmentallyconscious.Wehadasit-downinterviewata
locallunchrestaurant.Shehasanagriculturalbackgroundthathasallowedforhertoapply
theseskillsinvarioussettingsinPuertoRicoinadditiontothehuertos.Sheisnotanative
toPuertoRicowhichaddedanextralayerofintricacytoherexperiences.
Yolandawasaregularvolunteeratahuertoinadditiontohavinganotherjob.She
wasoneoftheyoungerwomenIinterviewed.IinterviewedYolandaatthehuertoshe
workedat,thismadeitpossibleforustohaveasit-downinterviewinadditiontoatransect
walk.
Lindawasthemanagerandfounderofabighuerto,inadditiontobeinga
communityleaderandpsychologist.Herinterviewwasheldatanofficeintheapartment
complex,beforetheinterviewweconductedatransect-walk.Heruniqueexperiencesfrom
32
amanagerialpointofviewbroughtauniqueandimportantperspectivetothestudy.Sheis
oneoftwoolderwomenthatwereinterviewed.
Maya2becamethemanagerofahuertoshortlyafterHurricaneMariaandworked
thereuntilshortlybeforeIarrived.Maya’sinterviewwasconductedin-personatalocal
coffeeshop.Inadditiontoherexperienceofworkingonthehuertoduringacriticaltimeshe
alsoworksinagroecologyandisgenerallyverypassionateaboutagriculture.
EricajustfinishedherMastersinenvironmentalstudies.Shehasexperience
volunteeringatvarioushuertosurbanosandfarmsinPuerto.Sheisveryfamiliarwith
agriculturebecauseshegrewuponafarminLatinAmerica.Sheisthesecondoftwonon-
PuertoRicansinterviewed.Herinterviewtookplaceatalocalrestaurant.
Antoniaisthefounderoftheurbanfarmshemanages.Shegrewupinaruralareaof
PuertoRicoonafarm.Antoniaisthesecondofthetwoolderwomeninterviewed.
Antonia’sinterviewtookplaceatherhouseonthefronporch,afterwordswedidatransect
walkatthehuerto.
Marisahasalotofexperienceinagriculture,havingnotonlygrownupoutsideof
thecitybutalsoresearchingurbanagricultureandworkingonvarioustoolsforurban
farmersinPuertoRico.InadditiontothissheisalsoaprofessoratauniversityinPuerto
Rico.Marisa’sinterviewtookplaceinherofficeatalocaluniversity.
CarinaiscurrentlyagraduatestudentatauniversityinPuertoRico.Carinawas
interviewedoverzoom.Herresearchisoneducationalurbanagriculture.Shehas
experiencenotonlyasaprojectmanagerandimplementerofurbanagriculturebutalsoas
avolunteer.
2 NoemiandMayaworkedatthesamehuerto.
33
Noemi3isadoctoralPh.DstudentinPuertoRicowhoiscurrentlythemanagerofa
huertourbano.NoemiistheonlypersonIinterviewedtwice,wedidatransectwalkatthe
huertowhenIwasinPuertoRicoandazoomcallonceIreturnedtoCalifornia.Sheisone
oftheyoungerpeopleinterviewed.Althoughherresearchfocusesonriversandstreams,
shedoesn’thavearobustagriculturalbackgroundlikeotherpeopleinterviewed.
Inadditiontotheinterviewsandtransectwalks,Iwouldjournaleverynightduring
mytimeinPuertoRico.ThisallowedmetoreflectontheinterviewsIconductedandnote
themesduringmytimeinPuertoRico,outsideoftheinterviews.Ialsovisited3different
farmersmarketsinPuertoRico(MercadoAgricoladeViejoSanJuan,LaPlazadelMercado
deSanturce,andMercadoOrganica).Mygoalindoingthiswastogetagreater
understandingofthelocalagriculturalfoodsystem.Thesefarmersmarketswerealso
mentionedmanytimesduringmyinterviewswithvariouswomen.Aftervisitingthese
markets,Iwouldjournalabouttheexperienceandwhatproductsweresold.Itwasalso
usefultocomparethisexperiencetothesupermarketIwouldpurchasemyownfoodfrom.
Aftertheinterviewswereconducted,theywerethentranscribedusing
ExpressScribe.InterviewswerethenanalyzedusingNvivoandusedadeductivecoding
methodrootedinfeministframeworksofstandpointtheoryanddependencytheory.I
developedasetofthemesthatwasreferencetoguidethecodingprocess(Yi,2018).
DespitetheinterviewsbeingconductedinSpanishandtranscribedinSpanish,thecodes
usedinNVivowereinEnglish.Standpointtheorywasusedasguidebecausetheresearchin
thispaperincludestheinherentknowledgeandlivedexperiencesofthesewomento
informfindingsandrecommendations.Furthermore,Dependencytheoryallowsforthe
3 NoemiandMayaworkedatthesamehuerto.
34
topicsthatwerediscussedwiththesewomentobefitintoabroaderframeworkofPuerto
Rico,ingeneralandhowcolonialrelationshipswiththeUnitedStatesinfluencetheir
huertos.
Findings
Thefindingsinthissectionareorganizedusingthefivedistinctivethemesthatmyresearch
questionswerecenteredaroundandthenbysubtheme.Themajorityofthesubthemes
werealsoidentifiedastopicsIwantedparticipantstoaddressintheiranswers.Someof
themwereincludedafterInoticedthemcomeupinmorethanoneinterview.Intrivews
werecodedusingadeductivecodingprocess.Thecodesusedwerethesamesubthemes
theyaredividedunder.
UrbanAgriculture
CommunityResponsetoEstablishment
Howacommunityrespondstotheestablishmentvarieshuertotohuerto.
Establishmentreferstotheinitationofcreatingahuertoinacommunitybutalsothe
huertoitself.Thequestionaskedwas“Comorespondiolacomunidadalhuerto?”(howdid
thecommunityrespondtothehuerto).InCarina’sexperienceworkingwithelderlypeople
establishingahuertoinanapartmentcomplex,someneighborswerephysicallynotableto
helpestablishthehuerto.However,theyhelpedinotherways,likedonatingseedsor
starterplants.InLinda’scase,agroupofwomenattheapartmentshelivedatidentified
communityneedsandthensurveyedpeoplewholivedintheapartmentcomplextosee
35
whattheybelievewasthegreatestneedforthecommunity.Lindasaidoverwhelmingly
thatpeopleexpressedaneedforfreshandorganicproduce.InMayraandNoemi
experiencesitwasalsothecommunitythatidentifiedtheneedforproduce.Marisaadded
thatshebelievesthatmanyofthepeopleinvolvedinthecreationofahuertotypicallyhave
somesortofexperiencewithagriculture.Incontrast,somepeoplemightbelimitedintheir
abilitiestoparticipatebecausetheylackanyknowledgeonagricultureandfeel
intimidated.
Antoniawastheonlywomenwhosehuertowasaresultofpreventinggentrification.
AccordingtoAntonia,theplacewherethecommunityhuertoissituatedwastheparkinglot
forashoppingcenterthatnevergotbuilt.Onedayaforeignladyapproachedherandnoted
thatthelotwastheperfectplacetobuildahouse.“YoBoricuahastaelfin,paraqueinvida
otra,invadoyoquesoydeaqui(IamBoricuauntilthedayIdie,insteadoflettinganother
personinvade,IamfromhereandIwillinvade)”.Sheslowlybeganplantingflowerseeds
earlyinthemorningandthenbananas.Eventuallyheractionscaughttheattentionofthe
presidentoftheneighborhoodassociationandheaskedherifshewouldliketoestablisha
huerto.Tothisdaytheyaretheonlyconsistentvolunteersofthathuerto.Thecreationof
huertosincommunitiesinPuertoRicorangedfromparticipatorytoradical,asinthecaseof
Antonia.
Perceptionsofurbanagriculture
Womeninterviewedhadagenerallypositiveperceptionsofurbanagricultureand
whatahuertocouldcontributetoacommunity.Carinabroughtupthaturbanagriculture
wasawayforeverydaypeopletocreatechangesinthePuertoRicofoodsystem.Huertos
areaphysicalspacethatcommunitymemberscanusetointeractwithoneanother.There
36
isaninherentexchangeofknowledgewithoneanotherand,attimes,anintergenerational
exchangeofknowledgebetweenolderpeopleandyoungerpeople.Inaddition,Ericaadded
thatvolunteeringatvarioushuertosmadeherinteractwithdifferentpeoplewhoexposed
hertoalotofuniqueideasaboutagriculture.Sheaddedthattheconversationswith
volunteersatLinda’shuertoaremuchdifferentthanthosewithcollegestudentsatthelocal
huerto.Antoniaaddedthatmostpeopleinhercommunityappreciatethevalueandbeauty
thatthehuertobringshercommunity.Howeverthisdoesn’tresultinmorevolunteers.
Peopleinhercommunityfeltasifitgavetheircommunityabetterreputation.Mayaadded
thatshenotedalackofinterestwhencommunitymembersweregiventheoptiontohave
theirownplotandgrowtheirownfood.Sheaddedthatisunderstandable,especiallyfor
folkswhoworkallday,andthelastthingtheymaywanttodoismorework.Incontrast,
Marisanotedthatinherexperiencepeoplebegantonoticethepotentialofurban
agriculture,inmomentsofcrisisorinamomentoffoodinsecurity.Manywomenalso
notedthatthehuertosareoftentimesusedbythemselvesasateachingtooltoteachabout
theenvironment,agriculture,ornutrition.Severalwomenaddedthaturbanareasalso
needsustainableandnutritionaldevelopmentprojects,especiallyafterhurricaneswhen
urbancommunitiesareleftvulnerable.Creatingsustainabledevelopmentprojectswould
increasetheoverallpositiveperceptionofurbanagriculturethatwomenandothershave.
Futureofurbanagriculture
ManywomensharedthatthereisalackofinstitutionalsupportfromthePuerto
Ricangovernment,whichthreatensthefutureofthehuertos.Atleasttwowomen
interviewedexpressedthattheygotfundingfromtheToyotaFoundationwhileanother
sourceoffundingidentifiedwastheBancoPopulargrantopportunities.Somewomen
37
mentionedreceivinghelpfromuniversitiesthroughextensionandvolunteersupport.
However,thiswasnotwidespreadandextensionserviceswereonlyreceivedduringthe
firstyearsofthehuerto.
Theyweremixedintheirrecommendationsandideasofhowthefuturewouldlook
forurbanagriculture.Marisaexpressedthatthereneedstoberegulationspassedsothat
urbanagricultureisregulatedandorderly.Sheaddedthatthereneedstoberegulations
thatregulatetheenvironmentforthecommunityandwhatcanandcannotbegrown.
Antoniaexpressedthatthefutureofurbanagricultureisthreatenedbythelackof
volunteers.FurthermoreCarinasaid,“Nodeberíanestarsobreviviendo,deberíanserque
tienenelapoyo,ysecontinúanrenovando,creciendo,yteniendomásimpacto…(They
shouldn’tjustbesurviving,theyshouldbereceivingsupport,continuallygrowingand
renovating,andhavingmoreimpact)”.Therewassomehopeexpressedsincemanywomen
witnessagrowinginterestfromyoungerpeopletobeinvolvedinagriculture.Marisaadded
thatthereissuccesswiththeindividualhuertosthatpeoplehaveattheirhomesandthat
mightbeapossiblesuccessrouteforurbanagricultureinPuertoRicothatcanbeexplored.
Sellingofproducts
Oneoftheprimarybenefitsthathuertosbringtotheircommunitiesistheincreased
availabilityoffreshproduce.Allwomeninterviewedonlygrowwhattheyknowpeopleare
goingtobuyorwhattheyknowismostcommonlyconsumed.Allhuertossoldthings
cheaperthanthegrocerystore.Lindaaddedthatifsheknewsomeonedidn’thavemoney,
shewouldgivethemfreeproduce.Manywomennotedthattheysoldproducemuch
cheaperthanthegrocerystoreandwithbetterquality.Around50%hadsoldorwere
currentlysellingproducetocommercialbuyerslikerestaurantsorhotels.
38
Successingrowingatacompetitivepriceischallenging,however.Ericaaddedthat
itisnormallyveryhardforhuertostobeaconsistentproviderofproduceduetothe
irregularityofvolunteersandperhapsnotbeingabletofulfillacontract.Another
constraintforhuertosisidentifyinghowmuchpeopletheycanactuallyserveandwhothey
wanttoserve.Ericanotedthatwhenhuertosstartsellingproducetopeopleoutsideofthe
community,thegoalofprovidingforthecommunityisnolongerthere.Thiscanbeahard
positiontonavigatebecausethoseinvolvedinhuertosfeelproudofbeingabletoselltheir
productstopeopleoutsideoftheirdirectcommunity.Atthetimewhenthewomenwere
interviewed,somenotedthatthehuertoswereproducingenoughforvolunteersandlocal
communitymembersbutnotenoughtoselltootherpeople.Valeriaaddedthatingenerala
lotofworkneedstobedonetocreateandstrengthenthelocalmarketsforvendors.
Somewomenmentionedthatitwashardtofindorgettoalocationwherelocally
grownproducewassold.Thismakesbuyingfromnearbycommunitiesmucheasier.
Anotherhurdleafewwomenmentionedisdealingwithcommunitymemberswhowant
produceforfree.Ericaaddedthatmostpeopledon’tknowhowmuchtimeandeffortgoes
intogrowingaproduct.Othersourcesofincomeforthehuertosincludeofferingurban
agricultureworkshopsandsellingplantsforconservationprojects.
Qualityofproducts
Inorderforpeopletosupportlocalfarmerstheymustexperiencethedifferencein
tasteandquality,asexpressedbyMarisa.Mostwomenhadthisperceptionthatthelackof
chemicalsbeingusedonthehuertosresultedinbettertastingproduce.EricaandLinda
addedthateatingleafygreensboughtatthegrocerystoretastedlikechemicalsin
comparisontothemoredesirabletastefromtheleafygreenstheycouldacquireintheir
39
huertos.Antoniaaddedthatnotonlywassheeatingbetterqualityproducebutshewasalso
savingmoney.Duetotheperceptionofhigherqualityandbettertastingproduceatleast
twohuertossoldtheirproducetohigh-endrestaurants.Noemialsoaddedthathuertosalso
growitemsthatarenottypicallyconsumedorproducedontheislandduetoculturaldiets.
Mayranotedthathuertosnormallyexposechildrentodifferentfruitsandvegetablesand
canpotentiallychangeconsumptionpatternsoftheyouth,influencingthemtoeathealthier
andfresherproduce.Thus,thereweremanybenefitstohavingqualitythatwasperceived
asbetterthangroceryproduce.
Volunteers
Everywomaninterviewedmentionedalackofvolunteersathuertos.Eachwoman
hasattemptedmorethanonemethodtoreachouttopeopleincludingwordofmouth,
events,flyers,andFacebookevents.Antoniaaddedthatifpeoplevolunteered,therewould
benoneedtosellthemproducts,theycouldallshare.Thelongevityandstrengthofthe
huertoisdependentoncommunitysupport,accordingtoEva.Therewereatleasttwo
huertoswhohadasignificantamountofcollegestudentsasvolunteers.Onehuertoworked
directlywithalocaluniversityandtheotherdidnot.
Anothersourceofvolunteerswasthroughvolunteerbrigades.Thesebrigadescome
fromallovertheislandtohelpvariousentities,includinghuertos.Lindanotedthat
brigadeswerevitaltohelpinghercleanupherhuertoafterHurricaneMaria.Mayraadded
thatpeoplegenerallyunderestimatethevalueofvolunteersbecausetheirlaborisfree.She
addedthatthesmallgroupofvolunteersultimatelygetstriedandcannotvolunteer
anymore.Onlyonewomanexplicitlymentionedthatshewishedthatthereweremore
adults(non-collegestudents)whovolunteered.
40
WhatthewomenenjoyIdentifyingwhatwomenenjoywasveryimportanttoincludeinthisresearch.It
wasimportanttoincludeanarrativeofwhattheyarefondoftohighlightwhytheychoseto
facesomeofthedifficultiesthatarisewithbeinginvolvedwithahuerto.Inaddition,itwas
alsoimportanttofindoutofwomenactuallyenjoyedgrowingtheirownproduceorifit
wasdonemoreoutofnecessity.Overall,mostwomenexpressedthattheyfeltvery
positivelyaboutthehuertos.
Thethingsthatwomenenjoyaboutthehuertosvariedwomanbywoman.However,
therearesomecommonthemesthatcameup.Womenstatedthatcommunitymembers
enjoytheproductsgrownatthehuertos.Yolandabelievesthatpeopleenjoybeingableto
haveaccesstofruittreesinacity,anareawheretherenormallyarenone.Tothatpoint,
Marissamentionedthathavingthefinalproductandbeingabletosellitisalsoahighly
enjoyedactivity.Sheaddedthatgettingthefinalproductmakespeoplefeelaccomplished
becausetherearemanystagesthatneedtobecompletedbeforegettingthefinalproduct.
Threeofthewomeninterviewedsaidthattheirfavoritepartwasplantingseedsand
witnessingtheirgrowth.Antoniaexpressedthatoneofthethingssheenjoyedwasbeing
abletoimplementwhatshelearnedfromherfatherwhenshewasgrowingupinthe
countryside.Shealsoaddedthatshelikedsittingdownintheeveningsanddehulling
pigeonpeas.Carinasaidherfavoritethingwasbeingabletocreateconnectionsbetween
peoplethatcancollaborateonfutureprojects.Someothernon-agronomicthingspeople
enjoyincludebeingabletospendtimewithlike-mindedpeople,havingaccesstoproduce
withouthavingtogotothegrocerystore,communityeventsheldatthehuertos,anda
spaceforkidstoplayandreceivehomeworkhelp.
41
Anothernon-agronomicbenefitofhuertosarethetherapeuticeffectsofinteracting
withnature.Onewomaninterviewedstatedthatbeinginvolvedinhuertosmakesherfeel
asifsheiscontributingtoasolutiontotheissueoflackoffreshproduceinPuertoRico.
Ericastatedthatworkinginthehuertohelpsherdestress.Shealsoaddedthatbeingableto
experiencethegrowthofplantisgreatforthesoul.Beinginvolvedinhuertosisalsoaway
forwomenwhogrewupinthecountrysidefarmingtogetbackintouchwiththoseroots.
Youthinvolvement
Despitemanywomenexpressingthatyoungpeoplearethefutureofagriculturein
PuertoRico,somewomenalsofeltasifyoungpeopledon’twanttodothehardlaborthatis
requiredforagriculturalworkandthatperhapsresultsinthelownumberofvolunteers.A
differentexperiencewasexpressedbyCarina,whoprimarilyworkswithchildren.She
addedthatteachersdonotrecognizetheinfluencethattheyhaveandthatthechildren
have.Shesaidthatifachildhasbeenlearningaboutagricultureatschool,theymight
mentionitathomeandinfluencetheirparentstostartahuerto.However,thispotentialhas
notbeenrecognized.Likewise,EricaandCarinabothmentionedthatthereisalackof
agriculturaleducationforchildren.Theybelievethatchildrenareinterestedhoweverthere
isn’tmuchinstitutionalsupport.Exposuretoagriculturethereforecomesfromexperiences
outsideofschool,likeatcommunitygardens.
However,thisexposureoutsideofschoolislimited.Forexample,atLydia’shuerto
theydoabriefsummercampandatNoemi’shuertothereisaregularprogramthatruns
42
theentireschoolyearandtakesabreakduringthesummer.However,bothofthese
programsarelimitedtothechildrenthatliveinthosecommunities.
Mayaaddedthatchildrenwereessentialfortheestablishmentofthehuertoshe
workedatit.Itwasneighborhoodchildrenwhohadtheideatoestablishacompost
business,whichwhentheywereconnectedwithalocalprofessorinterestedinurban
agricultureturnedintoacommunityurbanfarms.Thesecommunityhuertosarealso
valuablebecausetheycandevelopcommunityleaderswhocontinuetobeinvolvedwith
thehuertoforalongtime.
Whenlivinginurbanareas,huertosbecomeanoasisforchildren.Theyareexposed
tomoregreeneryandareexposedtowheretheirfoodcomesfrom.AtthehuertoNoemi
manages,theyusedtoprovideyouthinvolvedwithastipendfortheirlabor.However,in
recentyearstheyhaven’thadthefundingtoaffordthestipend.Someoftheworkthat
childrenathuertosdoiswaterplants,preparingthesoil,andweeding.Noemiaddsthatitis
importanttorememberthatthechildrenwillgettired.Victoriaexpressedthatitiseasier
toworkwithchildrenthanadultsbecausechildrenaremoreflexiblethanadults.Indeed,
childrenareveryimportantforthesuccessofahuerto.Noeminoted,“Losniñossonel
corazondelhuerto,sonlaspersonassiemprepresente,sonlosniños.Losniñossonlosque
estansiempredeapoyo..(Thekidsaretheheartofthishuerto,theyarethepeople
consistentlypresent.Thekidsarealwaystheonestosupportus)”.
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PuertoRicanFoodSystemandFoodSovereignty
FoodsysteminPuertoRico
WheninterviewedabouttheoverallfoodsysteminPuertoRicoandhowhuertosfit
intothatsystem,womentalkedaboutfoodimportsinPuertoRicoandhowthereisalack
oflocallygrownfoodproductsingeneral.Someoftheolderwomenexpressedthatover
theirlifetimetherehasbeenlessaccesstolocallygrownproducts.Whilesomeofthe
youngerwomenbelievedthatthereweremorelocallygrownproducts.Mayaexpressed
thatfoodimportsbeganinthe1940swhenPuertoRicobegantofocusonotherindustries;
furthersupportingtheolderwomensentimentsthatavailabilityoflocalfoodshaschanged
intheirlifetime.Mayaaddsthatthedrasticchangesinthefoodsystemhaveoccurredinthe
lifetimeofoneperson,becauseapersonborninthe40swouldbe80yearsoldin2020.
Anotherobstacleidentifiedisthatitisnoteasyforpeopletobuylocallygrown
products.Thereareafewfarmersmarketswithlocalfarmers,howevertheymightnotbe
easytogettoorsomeofthefarmersmarketsareonlyweekendsandsomeareonlyafew
timesamonth.Manywomensaidthatitisveryrareforalocallygrownproducetobesold
atlocalgrocerystores.Ericaaddedthatonereasonisthatlocalfarmersdonotgrow
enoughproductsforgrocerystorestosell.Thisalsoincludeshuertos,theyaretoosmallto
produceasubstantivequantityforgrocerystorestosell,asmentionedabove.Atleasttwo
womeninterviewedmentionedthatHurricaneMariawasawake-upcalltotheentire
island;thattheyaretoodependentonfoodimports.ItwasstatedmanytimesthatPuerto
Ricohasgreatclimateandotheragronomicconditionsthatmakeitagreatlocationtogrow
manyproducts.However,itwasalsoexpressedthatlocalpeopleinfrequentlytake
44
advantageoftheseattributesanditisoftenforeignerswhotakeontheseprojects.Many
womenwerehopefulabouttherolethatyoungpeopleareplayinginthecurrent
agriculturalsectorandbelievedthatthesefolkshavethemindsettogrowmorefoodinan
environmentally-consciouswaywhilealsobeingmoreconsciousconsumers,andthey
believehuertosfitintothesenewideals.
WomeninUrbanAgricultureinPuertoRico
Mostofthewomeninterviewedsaidthatthemajorityoftheirvolunteerswere
women.Whenaskedwhywomenmakeupthemajorityofvolunteerstherewerealotof
similaranswers.Forexample,womenhavethisnaturalabilitytogivelifeandmore
nurturingandtheytakethatskilltothegarden.Similarly,manysaidthatitisthematernal
instinctthatwomenhavethatleadsthemtothegarden.Inaddition,manystatedthatthey
believethatthedominantpresenceofwomenisbecausewomenaretheonesthatcookand
preparefoodfortheirfamilies.Havingahuertoorbeinginvolvedinonegivesthemthe
opportunitytohavefresherandhealthierproductsfortheirfamilies.Forexample,Linda
statedthatthehuertoinhercommunitycameaboutthroughaninitiativefromawomen’s
groupthatidentifiedneedsintheircommunity.Furthermore,anotherreasonidentified
washuertosareawayforwomenthatarefromthecountrysidetoreconnectwiththeir
roots.Itisimportanttonotethatwhenaskedwhytheythoughtmostofthevolunteers
werewomenmostofthewomenhadtotakeamomenttoreflectandcomeupwithan
answer.Manywomenstartedoffbysayingtheydidn’tknow.
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FoodResiliency
Collaboration
Themaincollaboratorswithhuertosingeneral,werelocaluniversities.Thehuerto
thatMayaandNoemiworkedathadastrongpartnershipwiththelocaluniversity.And,as
Mayapointedout,thatthelongevityofthehuertoisduetothesupporttheyreceivefrom
thelocaluniversity.Marisaaddedthatthereneedstobemoredirectgovernmentsupport
andcollaborationwiththeiroffices.Victoriahighlightedtheimportanceofcollaboration
betweengroupswithmutualinterests.Collaboratingwithothergroupsfacilitatesprojects
becausethereismorefundingavailable.Inaddition,bothgroupscanmutuallylearnnew
techniquesandmethodsfromoneanother.
CapacityBuilding
Womeninterviewedmentionedhowparticipantsandthemselveshavelearnedalot
aboutagricultureandagronomicpracticesfromeachother.Ericaaddedthatshewould
learnthingsatthehuertosshevolunteeredatandthenimplementtheminherown.Huerto
managerscanbuildcapacityincommunitymembersbyhostingeducationalworkshops.
Carinaaddedthatmanytimespeoplethatliveincitiesdon’tnormallylearnorhave
exposuretoagricultureoragriculturaleducation.Ericafurtheraddedthatpeopleat
huertoswouldexpressbeingfrustratedandthattheyneverhadlearnedhowtoplantseeds
andharvestitemssaying,“Peroporqueanosotrosnonosenseñanasembrarsieslobasico
queunodebesabar(thisisthebasicthingweneedtolearntosurvive)”.Furthermore,
Yvetteaddedthathuertosneedtobethecapacitybuilderforindividuals.Valentinabelieves
46
thatwithoutcapacitybuildingthefutureofhuertosisthreatened.Sheaddedthat
individualswhodon’thavetheskillscannotprovideaclearpathforwardforthehuertos.
Sustainability
Whenwomeninterviewedmentionedthewordsustainability,theyuseditmostlyin
referencetoenvironmentallysustainability.Allhuertosusednochemicalinputsand
utilizedcompostandmanure.Inaddition,theyallusedagroecologicalfarmingmethods.
Ericaaddedthatbyusingproductsfromherownhuertosheavoidedconsumingthemany
inputsthatproducefromthegroceryhas,likethegasneededfortransportationorthe
plasticcontainersleafygreenscomein.Shealsobelievesthatduetotheagroecological
methodsusedinthehuertos,peopleinvolvedwillbemoreinfluencedtochangetheirhabits
towardstheenvironmentandbemoremindful.Anotheraspectofsustainabilityisthe
socialandeconomiccomponentofit,whichensuresthatprojectshavearemaintainedfor
longer.Valentinabelievesthatpeopleinvolvedinhuertosdonothavethecreativityor
knowledgetoforwardlycarryoutthehuerto.Furthermore,Yvetteaddsthatatherhuerto,
theyalsogrowplantsthatareusedforsoilerosionconservationprojects.
Community
Participantchangesovertime
Morethanonewomaninterviewedtalkedaboutthe“boomandbust”huertos
experienceinvolunteers.Whentheyfirstopen,therearealotofvolunteers,howeverafter
afewyearsthenumberofvolunteersbegintodecrease.Mosthuertoshadlessthan10
regularvolunteers.
Inresponsetothisquestion,Carinasaidthatsupportforthehuertodoesn’tstayat
100%butwhenitdoes,itisbecausethoseinvolvedareactuallyveryinterested.Sheadded
47
thatpeoplethatstayandgetmoreinvolvedgenerallyhavemoreexperienceandmore
desiretogetinvolved.IncontrastErica,notedthatshesensedagenerallackofinterest
fromcommunitymembers.Shesaid,“Whentheydovolunteertheyworkforamonthor
two.Theybegintogettiredandvolunteerless.It’shardwork,it’snoteasy.”Sheaddedthat
mosthuertosonlyhave1-3volunteersleft.
However,manybeneficiariesofhuertosstillsaythattheysupportthehuertodespite
notbeingdirectlyinvolved.Lindaadded,“Siyofueroapartamentoporaptartamentotodoel
mundotevadecirqueapoyoelhuerto(Ifwentapartmentbyapartmentandaskedifthey
supportedthehuerto,theywouldallsayyes)”.Theybuyfromus”.Lindaalsonoticedthatat
thehuertoshewasinchargeof,theyhavehadmorevolunteersinthepast.Participant
changesarealsoexpectedduringsignificantevents,likeHurricaneMaria.Mosthuertos
notedadecreaseinvolunteersafterthehurricane.Mostpeoplehadotherthingstoworry
aboutafterthehurricaneandmanypeoplealsohadtomove.Volunteershiphasn’t
recoveredafterthehurricane,makingalreadyscarevolunteersscarcer.
SignificanceofWhatisGrown
ThebulkofwhatisgrowninhuertosurbanosinSanJuanareproductsthatare
typicallyusedinPuertoRicancuisine.Onewomannotedthatinthefutureshewishesto
implementamoreparticipatorysenseofgrowing,andgatherinputfrompeoplethat
frequentthehuerto.Afewwomenalsonotedthattheyalsogrowmedicinalplantsintheir
huertos.Mayraalsoaddedthathergoalwastoutilizespaceatthehuertosheworkedatto
encouragepeopletogrowproduceandstartasmallbusiness.
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WhotheSpaceBelongsto
Oneinterestingfindingisthatperhapswhothecommunityperceivesthespace
belongstomayaffectcommunityinvolvement.Forexample,Antoniamentionedthatshe
hadlittletonohelpfromthecommunity.Shealsoaddedthatmanypeoplecallitherhuerto
(Antonia’shuerto).Inaddition,thehuertoislockedtothecommunityandsheistheonly
onewithakey.Ericasupportedthiswhenshementionedaschoolhuertothatceasesto
existduetoschoolclosuresafterHurricaneMaria.Shestatedthatthecommunityaround
theschoolnevertookownershipofthehuerto.Despitebeinginvitedtotakepartinhuerto
activities,thecommunitymembersneverreallyparticipated.Thiswasamajorhurdlethat
Mayaidentifiedduringhertimeasmanageratahuerto.Atthehuertoshemanaged,the
localuniversity“heldthekeys”.Communitymembershadestablishedthatshehada
perceivedownershipsinceonlysheheldthekeyandbecausetheuniversityhiredherto
managethehuerto.Sheaddedthatcommunitymembersmightthink,“esdelauniversidady
yotengoderechoenestehorario(thisistheuniversity’sandIhavetherighttouseitduring
thistimeframe”).Inaddition,shestatesthatshethinksthatcommunitymembersdon’tfeel
likethehuertoistheirsorevenasksfortheirowndesignatedspacetoplantproductsas
theywish.Incontrast,atthehuertoYolandaworksattherearemanypeoplethathave
keys.Yolandaaddsthatpeopledoasktohavetheirownplotofland.Womenalso
expressedthattheywouldliketobeabletohiresomeonefromthecommunitytobein
chargeofthehuerto,butsofarnoonehasthefundingforit.
SignificanceofSharedSpace
Huertosaremuchmorethanjustaplacewherepeoplecanacquirefreshproduce.
Forexample,inAntonia’sneighborhood,thehuertobecameaplacethathelpedimprove
49
thereputationoftheneighborhood.Similarly,thehuertothatMayaandNoemiworkedat
alsoreplacedanabandonedlot.Thehuertonotonlybecomesabeautifulgreenareabut
alsoaproductivearea.Inaddition,peoplewanttomakesureitispresentableandwell-
maintained.DuringmyinterviewwithNoemi,communitymemberscameoverandasked
herwhenthehuertowasgoingtobeopenagain(theytookamonthbreak)becausethe
weedsneededtobepulled.Noemialsoaddedthatthehuertoisanimportantsocial
gatheringspotwherechildrencelebratetheirbirthdaysandcommunitymembers
celebrateholidays.Inaddition,thehuertobecameanimportantgatheringplaceafter
HurricaneMaria.Communitymemberswouldmeettheretogathernecessarygoodslike
waterorchargetheirphones,butitalsobecameaplacewherepeoplecouldexchange
knowledge.ThehuertothatYvetteworksatwassituatedinbetweenhigh-income
apartmentsandlow-incomeapartmentsandYvetteexpressedthatthehuertohasbecomea
neutralarea,whereeveryonecanenjoythesharedspace.
SupportofGovernmentandHurricaneMaria
ResponsetoHurricaneMaria
AfterHurricaneMaria,manyhuertosfacedthetoughtaskofrebuildingand
rehabilitatingtheirhuertos.AccordingtoMarisa,beforethehurricanetherewere15
huertosthatsheknewofinSanJuan;afterthehurricaneonly7remained.Thisisbecauseof
themanychallengeshuertosfacedtoreconstruct.Ifhuertoswereheavilyimpactedanddid
nothaveastrongsupportnetworkitisalotoflaborforafewfolkstodo,especiallyifthey
alsoneedtoworryabouttheimpactthehurricanehadontheirownpersonallivesAfew
womenmentionedthatalmosttwoandahalfyearsafterHurricaneMariatheirhuertos
werestillnotfullyrecovered.Manywomenidentifiedtheirowncommunitiesasasourceof
50
helptohelpcleanupthehuertos.Ericaaddedthatmostcommunitieswelcomedhelpfrom
outsiders,likeuniversitygroups,whichwereidentifiedbymanywomenasamainsource
ofhelpaswell.However,Ericaalsoaddedthattheabilityofahuertotorecoverwas
dependentonthecommunity,insomecommunitiesthehuertosweren’tapriority.
Furthermore,Marisaexpressedthathuertoswithstrongleadershavebeenabletobounce
back.
Strongleadershipisoneofthereasonsthehuertosofthewomeninterviewedinthis
researchwereabletorecover;becausetheywereimportanttothewomenwhomanaged
themorvolunteeredatthem.Forexample,Antoniahadlittletonohelpincleaningupher
huertoafterthehurricaneandsheaddedthatitwasmostlyherandtheformercommunity
presidentthatrecoveredthehuerto.However,shealsonotedthatherhuertowasn’tvery
impacted.
Ericailluminatedhowthelackofcommunityhelpcouldnegativelyimpactthe
recoveryofhuertos.Whenshewenttogocheckonhuertosafterthehurricane,Ericasawa
communityinwhichtherewasahuertothathadbeenflourishingwasdestroyedandhad
beenusedasaplaceforpeopletodumptheirtrash.Theoriginalmanagersofthehuerto
hadtomoveduetothehurricaneandnooneinthecommunityhadtriedtopreservethe
huerto.Evenifcommunitieshadaflourishinghuerto,thepersonalimpactofthehurricane
tothemanagercouldcausethathuertotonolongerexist.
Furthermore,manywomenexpressedthatHurricaneMariawasalessonlearnedto
themselvesandmanypeopleonhowvulnerabletheywerenotonlytonaturebutalsoin
regardtofoodavailabilityontheisland.Mayasaid“…alarealidadquePuertoRicoesuna
isla,ysinovienenbarcas,sinovienenada,vahaberhambre(...PuertoRicoisanislandand
51
iftherearenoshipscomingin,thereisnothingandtherewillbehunger)”.Victoriafurther
addedthatthissenseofvulnerabilityalsoledmanypeopletolearnaboutsolidarityand
autonomy,throughhelpingoneanotherafterthehurricaneandalsorealizingthatPuerto
Ricogrowsverylittleofthefoodactuallyconsumedontheisland.Shebelievesthatmore
peoplearenowawareofthelackoflocalagriculturalproduction.
DuetothedisastrousimpactsthatHurricaneMariahadontheirhuertos,some
womenaretakingprecautionarymeasuresintheeventofanotherhurricane.Forexample,
Noemiisworkingoninstallingarainwaterfiltrationdevicethatwouldmakerainwater
potableforthekidsthatspendtimeatthehuerto.Shealsoidentifiedthatthiswouldbe
usefulintheeventofahurricaneandiftherearenowaterbottlesavailable.Inaddition,she
isalsowritingacontingencyplanintheeventofahurricaneandhowthehuertomust
prepare,sheaddedthatthepurposeisforthehuertotobemoreresilientinthefuture.
Yvetteaddedthatthehuertoshevolunteeredathascompletelychangedafterthe
hurricane.Afterthehurricaneshesaidtheydidn’tthinktheywouldbeabletobounceback.
However,everyonesatdownanddesignedwhattheywantedinthe“newhuerto”.For
example,theyhavebuilttablesthataretallenoughsothatplantsdon’tflood.Lindaadded
thatatthehuertoshemanageswhentheyreplacedstufftheythoughtabouttheeaseof
beingabletomovetheitemsomewherewhereitwouldnotgotdamaged.However,these
precautionsarenotbeingtakenbyeveryone.Antoniasaidthatsheisnotdoinganything
differentafterHurricaneMariaandhasnottakenanyprecautionsincaseofanother
hurricane.Thismightbebecauseherhuertowasn’tasnegativelyimpactedasothers.The
reconstructionofeachhuertoisdependentonthedamagethatwasreceivedand
volunteersandmanagersrealizingthedamagethatthehuertomayacquireiftheydon’t
52
act.Furthermorethestrategieswomenusedtoprotectthehuertofromfurthershowcases
theirinnovationandcreativity.
SupportofGovernment
Mostofthewomeninterviewedexpressedthattheyhadverylittlesupportfromthe
governmentintermsoffunding.Afewmentionedthatgovernmentofficialshadgoneto
theirhuertostohaveatour,butthatwasabouttheextentoftheirsupport.Duetothislack
ofsupportbeforeHurricaneMaria,nonehadreceivedsupportfromthegovernmentafter
thehurricanetorebuildandcleanthehuertos.WomeninterviewedbelievethatthePuerto
Ricangovernmentismuchmoreinterestedinsupportingagriculturalprojectsthatare
largerinscopeandscale.Manywomenexpressedthattheyhadreceivedfundingthrough
theprivatesector,donations,andrevenuefromtheirsales.Carinaexpressedthatthese
entitiesfillinthevoidthatthegovernmentshouldfulfill.Furthermore,Marisaaddedthat
thereispotentialforlocalmunicipalgovernmentstofurthersupporthuertosiftheState
governmentdoesnot.
Discussion
Here,Ipresentthefindingswithinagreaterdiscussionofdependencytheoryand
standpointtheory.Ifocusonvulnerability,labor,dependencyandresiliency.Leaningon
scholars,Ihavechosentounpackonlyafewofthemostresonantfindings.Thesewere
sentimentsthatmeantalottothewomenandcorrespondtomyownexperienceasa
LatinalivinginPuertoRicoandvisitinggrocerystoresandlearningfromthewomen’s
experiences.
53
First,thewomeninterviewedsaidthatthemajorityoftheirparticipantswere
children,youngadults,orseniors.Theyalsospokethatthehuertoisaspotwherethereis
anintergenerationalknowledgeexchange,whereolderpeoplecanletyoungerpeople
knowaboutagriculturalpracticesusedinthecountrysideyearsago.Indevelopment
projects,childrenandtheelderlyareoftensomeofthemostignoredgroups.Thisleadsto
vulnerabilityamongtheelderly,especiallyintermsoffoodinsecurity.Youngchildrenand
adultsoftendonotthinkofagricultureasafeasiblecareerchoiceduetoalotofstigmas
aroundagriculturallabor(Bennell,2010inEissler&Brennan,2015).However,inPuerto
Rico,thesefindingsindicatethatmovementstogrowmorefoodinPuertoRicoareledby
youngerpeopleandmosthuertoshavesomesortofeducationaloutreachprogramtoteach
childrenaboutagriculture.MoreworkneedstobedoneinPuertoRicotoprovide
agriculturallearningopportunitiestostudents,especiallyinurbanareas.
Myfindingsindicatethatadecreasenumberinvolunteerswillresultinhuerto
managers,allwomen,havingtoworklongerandmorehoursatthehuerto.Lookingatthis
throughafeministlens,thesefindingsshowthatinanefforttoprovidetheirfamilieswith
fresherandhealthierfood,womenhavetotakeonadditionalworkontopoftheirother
responsibilities.Similarly,SomCastellano(2016)foundthatwomeninvolvedin
AlternativeFoodNetworksdomorephysicallaborinprovidingfoodfortheirfamilies.In
addition,shealsofoundthatwomenwithlowerincomesexertmorephysicallaborthan
thoseofhigherincomesinacquiringfood(SomCastellano,2016).WomeninPuertoRico
expressedthaturbanagricultureisawayforthemtoprovidethemselves,family,and
communitymemberswithdelicious,healthy,andaffordablefoodinawaythatdoesnot
harmtheenvironment.Inthiswaythesewomenarecontributingtothewell-beingofthose
54
insidetheirhomesandtheoverallcommunity,city,andarchipelago(SomCastellano,
2016).InGenderStudies,weoftentalkabouttheSecondShiftthatwomenwork,inwhich
womenleavetheirpaidlaborjobandcomehometocontinuetofeedtheirfamilies,clean,
andtakecareofchildren(Hochschild,1989).However,wemustnowalsoconsiderthe
thirdshiftoflabormanywomeninlower-incomecountriesdo:thelaborthatwomendoto
providetheirfamilieswithfoodorbetter-qualityfood(SomCastellano,2016).When
workinginthehuerto,womenarealsoawareofthebenefitstotheoverallsocietyand
environmentthattheiractionsgenerate.Weknowtheseexperiencestobetruebecauseare
thelivedexperiencesofthesewomenandtheyarethemostknowledgeableonthese
experiences.InPuertoRico,thisactionofprovidingandgrowingtheirownfoodfor
themselvesisamechanismforwomentobemoreautonomousfromtheUSinfiltratedfood
system.ThiswouldalsoperhapsmovePuertoRicofrombeinga“peripherycountry”in
relationtotheUnitedStates.
Intheinterviews,manywomenalludedtoandtalkedabouttheoveralldependency
thatthePuertoRicanfoodsystemhasonimportedfood,mostlyfromtheUnitedStates.
ThiscorroborateswhatGunder-Frankdescribedastherelationshipbetweenthecoreand
peripherycountry.However,inthecaseofPuertoRicoandtheUnitedStates,theperiphery
country(PuertoRico)isprovidingmanufacturedgoodsinexchangeforfoodandother
necessities,fromthecorecountry(theUnitedStates).ThismightbearesultoftheUnited
StateshistoricallyalreadyusingPuertoRicoforitssugarcaneandtobaccoindustryandthe
economicdevelopmentapproachesinthe1950sthatshiftedtheeconomyfromagriculture
tomanufacturing.
55
Wecanalsousethisframeofperipheryandcorecountriestoexamineotherissues
thatcomeupintheinterviews,liketheoverallchangeinlocaldietsinPuertoRico.Many
womenexpressedthatintheircommunitiesitwaseasiertoobtainfoodfromfastfood
restaurantsorpreparedmealsfromthegrocerystore.Theperiphery/corerelationship
withtheUSalsobroughtinacolonialdiet.PopulatingPuertoRicowithfastfood
restaurantsbasedintheUnitedStates,increasestherevenuefortheserestaurants.As
PuertoRicansconsumefastfoodmore,theirhealthmaybeimpactedinnegativeways.This
similarlyreflectstheeffectthattheconquistadores’dietthateventuallyledtothedeathof
theTaino’sacrosstheCaribbean(Cook,2002inGarcía-Polanco&RodríguezCruz,2019).
Thus,theperipheryandcoreframework,describedbydependencyscholarssupportsthat
notonlydoesithaveanadverseeffectfortheperipheryeconomybutalsomayhavean
adverseeffectonthehealthofpeoplelivingintheperipherycountry.And,inthisstudy,
thewomeninterviewedreinforcedthistheorywiththeirownlivedexperiences.
Wecanalsousetheframeworkofperiphery/coretounderstanddynamicswithin
thesamecountry.Forexample,theroleofmenandwomeninagricultureishistorically
verygendered.Whenpeoplethinkofafarmer,theimagethatcomestomindistypicallya
man.However,manywomeninterviewedinPuertoRiconotedthatitwasverycommonfor
womeninthepasttohavesmallareasintheirbackyardsdedicatedtogrowingtheirown
herbs,spices,andmedicinalplants.Womenstatedthatthispracticewasslightlyless
commontodayduetospaceissues,butsomewomendidfindthespacetoatleastgrow
medicinalplants.Thewomeninterviewedsharedthatintheirexperiencesthatwomen
wereveryinvolvedinurbanagricultureinPuertoRico,leadingmetobelievethatthis
mightalsobethecaseinruralareasofPuertoRico.Asasociety,wetendtothinkthatthe
56
extentofagriculturaltaskswomencontributeinarelimitedtopreparingandcookingare
food,thusplacingthemintheperiphery.However,womeninterviewedexpressedthatthey
workedinallaspectsofthehuertoincludingpreparingtheland,harvesting,selling,etc.,in
additiontoalotofadministrativeworkthatisdonetocoordinatevolunteers,acquiretools,
recruitpeople,andmanymore.
Inherwork,EsterBoserup(1970),foundthattherolethatwomenplayin
agricultureisunderestimatedandunaccountedfor.ThisremainstrueinPuertoRicotothis
day.Theriskofdoingthisisthatpolicymakerswillnotbeabletopassappropriatepolicies
forurbanagricultureandperhapsagricultureingeneralwithoutbeingawareofthe
genderednature.Thus,theperiphery/coreframeworkcanbeusedtodeterminewho
wouldbethemostaffectedbycertainpoliciesandwhatthosepoliciesneedtoaddress.
Furthermore,wecanalsousethisframeworkwhenspeakingoftherelationshipbetween
ruralandurbanagriculture.Weoftenassumethatruralfarmsaretheonlyonescapableof
providingfoodtopeople,thusunderestimatingthepotentialofurbanagriculture.Urban
andruralagriculturecanworkinasymbioticwayinwhichruralareascanprovidesome
necessitiessuchasmeatandgrainsthatmightnotbeaseasytogrowinanurbanarea,and
urbanareascangrowfruitsandvegetables.Thisway,theydonotcompetewithone
anotherbutcomplementoneanother.Thedependencytheoryframeworkofcoreand
peripherycountriesnotonlyworkstoassessinequalitiesbetweencountriesbutalsohelps
assessrelationshipswithincountries.
Atthetimethattheinterviewstookplace,mosthuertoswerebarelyrecovering
fromHurricaneMaria.Manywereonlyrecentlyreachingtheirnormalproductionand
schedules.Beforethehurricane,manywomenexpressedthattheyreceivedverylittle
57
supportfromthegovernmentandthissentimentremainedthesameafterthehurricane.
ThissentimentreflectsJuran’s(2012)findingthatafterdisastersaccesstoaidand
rehabilitationresourcesarenotasreadilyavailabletowomenastheyaretomen.
Inaddition,whenahuertoislostordamagedforalongperiodoftime,that
communityhaslostasourceofaffordableandfreshfruitsandvegetables.Thisis
particularlyimportantinPuertoRicowhere33%ofthepopulationisfoodinsecure,and
whereitcanbeexpectedthatinlow-incomeareasthispercentageismuchhigher
(Santiago-Torresetal.,2019).Inaddition,communitiesloseacommunitygatheringarea
thatisimportantforchildrenandadultstospendtimetogether.Thesehuertoscanbe
importantareasafterdisastersforpeopletoexchangeinformationandgatherneeded
materials,similartowhatNoemisharedinherinterview.Usingstandpointtheoryto
inquireabouttheeffectthatHurricaneMariahadonthesehuertosmadeitpossibleto
centerthenarrativeofwomenandtheirexperiences.Manytimes,mediareportsfocuson
onecollectivenarrative,howeverpeopleofdifferentgender,ethnicity,andother
socioeconomicindicatorswillbeimpactedbyadisasterdifferently.“Afailuretoaddress
genderwillreducetheefficacyofadisasterresponseinaddressingtheneedsoftheentire
affectedpopulation”writesAyeshaAhmad.Shealsoaddsthatdisasterscanbecasestudies
thatleadtosignificantdevelopmentstowardssocialchange(Ahmad,2018).InPuertoRico
forexample,weknowthatmanypeopleontheislandhaverecognizedtheneedtogrow
morefoodontheislandandbecomelessdependentonimportedfoods.Manypeopleare
moreawareandaremakingeffortstobuylocallygrownproduce.Furthermore,Ahmad
concludesthatresponsetodisastersmustbecateredtothatspecificcommunityand
58
accountforgender“astheorganizingprincipleofdisasterasacontinuousresponse”
(2018).
Oneoftheoverarchingthemesinthisresearchwastheoverallresiliencyofwomen.
Manywomencontinuetoworkatthehuertosdespitehavinglittletonosupportfromthe
governmentandlimitedsupportfromvolunteers.Theydomorelabor,takeonathird-shift,
tomakesurethatthehuertosrunefficiently.Thisresiliencywasevermorepresentafter
HurricaneMaria,whentheyworkedtocleanandrebuildtheirhuertos.Thisresiliencycan
beinterpretedasbeingabletoovercomeachallenge,howeveritisalsoimportantto
interpretintermsofthegivensituation.Itisclearthatthesehuertosareimportanttothese
communitiesbecauseevenafteramajorcatastrophicevent,likeHurricaneMaria,women
choosetorebuildandcleanuptheirhuertos.However,cautionmustbeexercisedwhen
describingpeopleasresilient.TracieL.Jackson,DirectoroftheLouisianaJusticeInstitute,
expressed“Stopcallingmeresilient.Becauseeverytimeyousay,“Ohthey’reresilientthat
meansyoucandosomethingelsetome.Iamnotresilient.”(statedaboutHurricane
Katrinain2005).Furthermore,resiliencyisrootedinovercomingadversityandweshould
becognizantinthatadversity,whatcausesthatadversity,andhowwecanworkto
diminishthatadversityinthefuture.Justbecausesomeoneisdescribedasresilientdoesn’t
meanthattheyshouldn’thavetoolsandpolicyintheirfavortorecoverfasterfroman
eventsuchasahurricane.
Conclusion
Toexpandthereachandscopeofurbanagriculture,thereneedstobegreater
governmentalandcommunitysupportforurbanagriculture.Inaddition,thereneedstobe
59
greatercollaborationamongsturbanfarmsinSanJuan.Duringmytimethere,Ididn’tget
theimpressionthattherewasmuchcollaborationamongstthehuertos.Theyknewofone
anotherandwouldmentioncertainhuertosandtheyhadparticipatedinCalixta-Ortiz’s
researchonhuertosinSanJuan,howevertherewasn’tacohesivegroup.Oneoftheideas
thatwasmentionedtomebyEricaandMarisawasthecreationofacollectiveofurban
farms,inwhicheachfarmspecializedinonethingandtheotherscouldusethatknowledge.
Forexample,onewouldspecializeincompost,preparingseedlings,etc.Furthermore,this
couldbeagreatstartforcreatingastrongurbanagriculturecommunityinSanJuan,where
huertoswouldhavealargerreachbeyondtheircommunities.Inaddition,byforminga
collectivetheywouldhavegreaterinfluencewithpolicymakers.Ifit’sjustoneurban
farmergoingtospeaktoapolicymakeritmightnothaveagreatimpact,howeverifit’s
nineortenfromdistinctcommunitiesitmightmakeadifference.
Inordertohaveproperoversightofurbanagriculturethereneedstobea
collaborativeeffortinwhichthedepartmentsofagriculture,publichealth,urbanhousing,
andeconomicdevelopmenthaveinput.Inaddition,thisalsoneedstobeincollaboration
withcommunitiessothatcommunitieshaveasayonpolicythatdirectlyaffectsthem.The
genderednatureofurbanagriculturealsoneedstobeaddressedinpolicydecisionsand
projectsandifthisisnotaddresseditcouldimpedethesuccessoftheproject.Thiswould
includeassessingwhoisgoingtobeinvolvedintheproject,whattheywanttogrow,and
waystoensurethattheycanparticipate.Thebenefitsthatthesespeaceshaveforchildren
isimportantandtheneedsofchildrenshouldalsobeatthecenteroffuturepolicies.
Furthermore,moreresearchneedstobedoneonwomenandurbanagriculture,urban
agricultureinlowerincomecountries,andwomenanddisasters.Thisresearchproject
60
triedtotouchonallofthesubjects.Withoutdoingresearchonthesetopics,weare
underservingaveryimportantcommunitythathasthepotentialtocreatechangenotonly
withintheirfamiliesbutalsowithintheircommunities.
Aspeoplearoundtheworldcomeupwithsolutionstofeedthegrowingand
increasinglyurbanpopulation,wemustthinkoutsidetheboxofjustincreasingyieldsin
ruralareas.Urbanagricultureisnotgoingtofeedeveryone,itwouldbeirresponsibleto
thinkso.However,itcanprovidefreshfruitsandvegetablestovulnerablecommunitiesin
urbanareas,beasourceofincomeandeducation,andacommunitygatheringarea.
Governmentsmustincreasesupportforurbanagricultureinordertoensurethelongevity
oftheproject,inordertoavoidonlyonepersondoingmostofthelaborforthefarm.
WomeninPuertoRicoareresistingtheimportedorientedfoodsysteminPuertoRicoand
aremakingafoodsystemthathashealthier,fresher,andlocalfoodavailabletopeople
throughoutthearchipelago.
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Appendix Appendix 1: Survey Questions
• Urban farms § ¿Cuál fue su influencia para empezar una huerta urbana? § ¿Cómo reaccionó su familia o comunidad al comenzar la huerta urbana? § ¿Cuáles son las cosas que usted disfruta de la huerta urbana? § ¿Como ha cambiado su huerta con el tiempo?
o Influenced o Knowledge before farming o Deciding what to plan o Support from social network o Selling surplus o Benefits from urban farm
• Disaster/Funding § ¿Cuáles fueron sus primeros pensamientos después de ver su huerta después de
María? § ¿Como fue la respuesta de la comunidad para ayudarse uno a otro después de
María? o Damage o Government help o Effective disaster relief o Easy to locate and identify help o Programs welcome by community members o Funding for UPA
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• Food resiliency o Sufficiency, appropriate, accessible
§ ¿Como ha cambiado el tipo de comida que usted compra a través del tiempo después de involucrase en la huerta?
§ ¿Donde compra usted su comida? § ¿Cuándo ha sentido que no tiene suficiente comida para usted y su familia?
o culturally relevant o Enough Food o affordable/unaffordable o accessibility (transportation/easy to get to) o diverse diet o Who buys the food o How much money is spent o How much money was spent with urban garden
• Food soverignty/ Changes in food system § ¿Según su experiencia cómo ha cambiado la agricultura en Puerto Rico y / el
sistema de comida en los últimos años. § ¿Qué piensa usted de sembrar más productos de comida aquí en Puerto Rico?
o Food system post-Maria o Role of women
• Community Support § ¿Qué piensa usted del apoyo de la comunidad en los huertos urbanos? § cuáles son algunas cosas o costumbres que son culturalmente importantes que los
huertos preservarn que tienen la esencia de Puerto Rico? o Organization for future disasters o Preservation of cultural factors o Cultural Significance of Urban Ag Space