Proyecto Akokán: A Local Initiative Building the Los Pocitos Community
Students and community members from Proyecto Akokán || Los Pocitos, Marianao, Cuba
Los Pocitos is a marginalized neighborhood of Havana that has been especially hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. The community is afflicted by an array of social issues that include squalid living conditions, economic insecurity, and high rates of unemployment. Most of its residents work in the informal market and are not college-educated. Economic insecurity has forced many families to work on the streets to earn a living despite early government recommendations to stay home.
The founder of the Akokán project, Michael Sánchez, believes that the official slogan of “Quedate en Casa” (Stay at Home) didn’t take into account communities, like Los Pocitos, that depend on each day’s earnings. The government tried to control the first wave of infections with restrictive mobility measures that prohibited the purchase of products outside of one’s neighborhood. However, these measures put the residents of Los Pocitos at a considerable disadvantage because there are no well-stocked markets within this neighborhood’s boundaries. In fact, few residents have ration books because they are mostly informal settlers who have migrated from other provinces.
Founders of the Akokán project || Los Pocitos, Marianao, Cuba
The Scope of Proyecto Akokán
Normally, the Akokán project receives local and international volunteers and artists, such as EEAbroad students, to support its community initiatives aimed at the most sensitive populations of the community - children, the elderly, and women. These educational, face-to-face workshops and field trips were impossible during the pandemic, so the project had to reinvent itself. They closed Akokán’s classroom, looked for other forms of financing, and got creative.
With donations from international collaborators, such as EEAbroad, and Cuban NGOs, like the Félix Varela Center, the Akokán project found a way to meet the moment.
Meeting the Moment
During this period, Akokán focused on strengthening its Network of Solidarity Patios to promote local food sovereignty. Around 50 residents-turned-farmers transformed their backyards into small plots for cultivation. Akokán provided outdoor workshops on organic agriculture and distributed free seeds and crops. They even inaugurated an Earth Market where the producers of the community offer their organic produce. This initiative addressed the lack of good markets in the area and avoided the need to brave some of the hours-long lines at some stores. With the support of other local partners, entire meals were also delivered to more than 50 families within the community.
Vendors and shoppers at the Earth Market || Los Pocitos, Marianao, Cuba
To address the needs of children in the community, Akokán inaugurated the “Akokán at Home” publication in which psychologists, designers, editors, and various Cuban entrepreneurship came together to bring health and environmental education to children via a colorful and engaging newsletter.
While attending to the immediate concerns of Los Pocitos, the Akokán project also recognized the need for culture. In the midst of all the complexities, Akokán held its annual community festival, appropriately named "Resilience to COVID-19." The normal celebration of local cultural traditions and languages was prominent. Two academic scholarships related to the study of these traditions were also awarded. Akokán organized clothing donations and the paintings of murals, in collaboration with Cuban graffiti artists.
As if this wasn’t enough, Akokán's projections for the future are ambitious. They are creating a virtual store for products crafted by artisans in the neighborhood. The newest additions include home accessories made of local bamboo. This virtual store combats the economic insecurity of the community and 20% of profits are also invested into the project.
Self-sufficiency at the Forefront
Despite the donations thus received and the project’s impressive activities, the community of Los Pocitos continues to need support. Micheal is passionate and adamant about promoting the community’s ability to satisfy its needs by its own means and donations received through EEAbroad’s Humanitarian Aid Initiative will be used to this end.
This is why the founder coordinator believes that the best way to help Los Pocitos is to support the Akokán project, itself.
Akokán is proof that in times of crisis, creativity is awakened and intelligent solutions to problems can be found. If you are thinking of donating to Cuba, please consider the EEAbroad donation initiative that will continue to support the Akokán project.