The Collective Perspective

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of visiting Kurt & Eva of Hacienda de Cafe Pomarrosa. and will be sharing my conversation with Eva on my website later tonight. People like Eva are truly inspiring and exactly what Puerto Rico needs!

A brief conversation between Israel and I following Reunion De La Empresa de Cafe, presented by Recinto Universario de Mayaguez's Collegio de Ciencias Agricolas. Though strongly a supporter of research efforts, Israel expresses frustration at the disconnect between academic findings presented and (nearly nonexistent) implementation efforts. He sites the government research grant application system as a directly contributing factor, as the system does not require or judge success based upon adoption rates of new methods or technologies by local farmers. Instead, a cyclical dynamic develops in which researchers continue on to their next project in order to secure new grant monies and living stipends.

I'm currently a Global Studies & Public Administration student at Sacred Heart University in Connecticut. My passion is social entrepreneurship and it is what has given me hope that real change can be made within a lifetime. Inspired by my experiences as a child, visiting my family in Puerto Rico, I have spent the past year and a half researching and developing an understanding economic, political, and social issues that have historically plagued the island. This summer I will be traveling to the central mountain region of Adjuntas, Puerto Rico to live on a coffee farm devastated by Hurricane Maria. I believe a transition to the specialty market and away from traditional commodity agriculture is the only way ti make agriculture in Puerto Rico economically sustainable and socially beneficial. Over the next 6-8 weeks, I'll be meeting with the people speaking with people in the industry--farmers, workers, government officials, organizations, consumers and credit loaning institutions.

Before leaving New York and heading to Sandra Farms, where I'll be staying with my gracious host and friend, Israel I sat down with my grandfather, Hector Borrero. A child of the great depression in Arecibo, Puerto Rico, Hector grew up on one of the island's largest farms with his grandparents and cousins. His grandfather, the farm owner, was an immigrant from Spain. Here, Hector walks me through an agricultural history of Puerto Rico in the 20th and 21st century from his perspective.