Agroecology

Respecting the earth and nature is the basis for a successful balance between health, food, and well-being. Para la Naturaleza has been cultivating a culture of agroecology by providing farmers with low-cost land to grow locally while they enrich the land with their agricultural practices. After Hurricane María, agroecological farmers lost their crops as well as their infrastructure and lacked the capital to recover their production. The fragility and scarcity of the food system was exposed as Puerto Rico imports 85% of its food supply, which increased even further in 2019.

Thanks to the support of donors, Para la Naturaleza created an agroecology unit and expanded our support to agroecological farmers by providing grants to boost local production. Today, our full-time Agroecology Coordinator works directly and supports over 150 agroecological farmers on over 1,500 acres. 

During the pandemic, we offered more than 183 hours of workshops to over 500 farmers. We conducted 28 workshops on organic farming, permaculture, and food preservation to the community. We also distributed more than 4,500 fruit trees and 11 tons of compost to 110 farmers. Demonstration gardens for food production are now part of our visitor centers, our community partners and Montessori school program.