Guests: Moraima & Papo, co-founders of Cabarete Sostenible

About Moraima

Moraima Capellán Pichardo is a Dominican-born, Brooklyn-raised, professional writer, visual creator, organizer, and yoga teacher. After completing her undergraduate degree in Journalism and Cinema and Screen Studies from the State University of New York at Oswego, Moraima worked in marketing and web management with communications companies such as the Bushwick Film Festival and American Telecommunications Inc. She has written for Oprah Daily, The Huffington Post, La Galeria Magazine, and Healthista, among others. Her published work often focuses on the cultural analysis of the immigrant experience and social justice on and off screen. After living in New York, Moraima returned home and is based in Cabarete, Dominican Republic.

About Papo

Papo, co-founder of Cabarete Sostenible Tomas “Papo” Soñé is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt, mixed martial arts instructor, former professional MMA fighter and gardening enthusiast. He is the co-founder of Academia de la Costa, a martial arts academy and community center based in Cabarete, Las Terrenas, Santo Domingo and Ottawa, Canada. Through Academia de la Costa, Papo has organized free Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, art and skateboard classes for local children, as well as cultural and folkloric events (Carnaval de Cabarete, art murals and music festivals) and yearly medical fairs providing dental and pediatric services to underserved communities. Originally from Santo Domingo, Papo has lived in Cabarete for almost 20 years. Cabarete Sostenible started with a brief conversation at the parking lot of Janet’s supermarket between Papo and Jonathan “Tomato” Kayes.

About Cabarete Sostenible

Based in and serving Cabarete, Dominican Republic, Cabarete Sostenible is a non-profit providing food relief to the neediest families and developing food sovereignty through civic regenerative agro-forestry and the creation of social enterprises. Furthermore, it is a platform for community-led sustainability and redistributes access to economic opportunities by bringing the power of the food systems back to local hands. Cabarete Sostenible started as an emergency response to the food crisis brought to light during the COVID-19 national and global emergency of early 2020.

In Cabarete, reliance on tourism has left the community especially vulnerable to the fluctuations of the global tourism sector. Over 70% of those who completed our local questionnaire reported a complete loss of income at the start of the COVID19 national quarantine. Even before the start of the coronavirus pandemic, the average family of Cabarete was considered food insecure; they do not have more than 3 days’ worth of food at home. Facing the threat of potential food starvation in their community of Cabarete, an initial coalition of local organizations, community leaders and volunteers quickly got together in March 2020 with simple yet ambitious goals:

In the short term, to provide emergency food relief and avoid a humanitarian crisis.
In a second stage: create the conditions for food sovereignty for the residents of the Cabarete municipality as soon as possible.
Long term, create complete sustainability in Cabarete, from food sovereignty to economics to education, to entrepreneurship and wellness programs for the local population.

In response to these challenges, Cabarete Sostenible has responded with an ambitious hands-on entrepreneurial approach to community development.

Learn more at their website: Cabarete Sostenible

Topics we discussed:

Overview of Cabarete as a place – who live there, population, economy, etc.
Economy of DR overall
Tourism and it’s effects on the area and country
How/Why Cabarete Sostenible got started
What Cabarete Sostenible does now – programs and mission
Challenges they’ve faced in the process
How they fit into and engage the community
Food Insecurity, Food Sovereignty, Sustainable Agroforestry
Issues with mono-culture agriculture
Shifting cultures around growing your own food
Rebuilding the soil and ecosystem and the vision for the farm
Information about the food packages they provide for local families in need
Wellness industry in Cabarete and making it accessible to locals
How Cabarete Sostenible is contributing to entrepreneurial opportunities and social businesses in town

A worker helps out in the greenhouse at Cabarete Sostenible’s community garden.

The farm plot at Cabarete Sostenible after chopping down plants that were grown quickly, as part of the process to fortify the soil with nutrients. The flowers and other plants were laid along the remaining plants to decompose, providing natural nutrients to the ground and what continues to grow.

A worker takes the seed from a breadfruit.

A black bean plant grows. The darker the pods, the more ready they are for harvest.

A girl helps out with the harvest of amaranth at the Cabarete Sostenible Farm.

Workers chop down plants that will be used to contribute to the agriforesting and compost process.

A plant grows on the farm at Cabarete Sostenible.

A worker chops down plants that will be used to contribute to the agriforesting and compost process.

A cotton plant grows on the Cabarete Sostenible farm.

A local girl helps out and takes a harvest from the amaranth plants at the Cabarete Sostenible farm.

Banana trees grow on the farm, surrounded by decomposing plants, in order to provide natural nutrients to the plants and soil.

A worker weighs harvested tomatoes to portion for someone who will soon purchase them.

Cabarete Sostenible collects plastic bottles of various sizes to reuse as pots for plants at various stages of growth.

A worker repots a plant.

A worker selects a bottle to use as the receptacle for a plant she will soon repot at the community garden at Cabarete Sostenible. The organization collects plastic bottles of various sizes to reuse as pots for plants at various stages of growth.