There is a documentary showing at the Labia on the 3rd, 4th & 5th of June (2007), which looks very interesting. It’s called The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil and basically it’s about how Cuba survived the Soviet collapse in 1990. It shows how a society can change from an industrialised, global focus to a local community-based one.
This is another project of While You Were Sleeping. Their previous documentaries have all been very interesting.
The tickets are R20 and you can book (recommended) them by phoning the Labia on 021 424 5927.
See below for the full write-up on the movie.
The film documents Cuba’s emergency transition to local organic agriculture, renewable energy, and large-scale mass transit. The transition occurred following the Soviet collapse in 1990, when their massive subsidies of imported oil and food to Cuba were halted.
In The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil, ordinary Cubans talk about the immediate hardships they faced. Their GDP dropped by more than one third, transportation nearly stopped and food became scarce – the average Cuban lost 20 pounds during the first years of this economic crisis.
The documentary visits urban gardens and organic farms, explains the relationship between food and fossil fuels, and shows how a society can change from an industrialized, global focus to a local, community-based one. It provides us with a rare view into this island’s culture, using firsthand reporting that focuses on what Cubans have learned about adapting to living with less.
The Community Solution, executive producer of the film, is a non-profit organization in Yellow Springs,