Shipping Containers Turn into Farms in Havana’s Poorest District

By Editor

September 15, 2025

Growing microgreens in containers is one way to combat food insecurity. Image by Editor.

Restaurants in Havana, Cuba are receiving boxes of sprouting vegetable from a small start-up growing business every few day.

Meanwhile, many of the founder’s neighbors struggle to feed their families in Cuba’s worst economic crisis in decades.

The project, called Enparalelo (Parallel Roads), was created by architect Oliesky Fabre. He proudly shows off a 2022 UN World Food Programme award, given to only 10 projects out of 200 in Latin America and the Caribbean for fighting hunger in innovative ways.

Fabre started the idea on his balcony during the COVID-19 pandemic, when Cuban agriculture collapsed by more than 50%, according to government figures.

Today, the business works out of two old shipping containers in La Timba, a poor barrio, and is building a larger site nearby on land donated by the local authorities.

“Microgreens are nutritious, cheap, and easy to grow,” Fabre said. One container is used to grow seedlings for restaurants, while the second, on wheels, doubles as a classroom for locals.

Community leader Jorge Peña said the start-up gives out seeds and coco fiber mesh instead of soil, helping families grow food at home.

People can eat what they grow, sell it to neighbors, or sell it back to Enparalelo. “We want this container to travel to other communities and inspire new producers,” Peña explained.

Sources: Granma, Reuters.