Akokán: a place ‘From the Heart’
How a deprived neighbourhood is working to become Cuba’s first sustainable development
One of the 15 municipalities of Havana, Marianao lies to the south-west of the city centre, and is perhaps best known as the home of the famous Club Tropicana. However, it is also home to one of the most underprivileged neighbourhoods in the city: Los Pocitos.
Los Pocitos is a crowded, ‘informal’ neighbourhood in which houses are constructed from recycled plastics and corrugated metals, in which many homes have no running water, and in which no residents a have permanent, publicly-recognised address. There is no escaping the fact that this is a poor town, yet its sense of place is strikingly apparent.
As my guide, Nelson Piloto, shows me through the streets, the public spaces are alive with activity. A cacophony of Cuban jazz and pop pumps from the homes, while people move from house, to street, to house with seeming abandon. There is a true sense of camaraderie as residents greet each other in the streets and welcome each other into their homes. Perhaps because of the ‘informality’ of the neighbourhood, there is an informality in the separation between public and private space. For its many downsides, this has forged a strong sense of belonging among the residents.
It is exactly because of this strong bond that Michel Sánchez, Professor of Archaeology and Co- Founder of Akokán, is working to protect and empower the Los Pocitos community.
Akokán
Akokán translates to ‘From the Heart’ in the language of Yoruba. Chosen at the project’s inception in 2016, the name is indicative of the level of attention to detail that Michel and his team have applied to all aspects of the project. As Los Pocitos is home to one of the largest populations of Yorubas in Cuba, the Akokán team wanted to ensure that the religion plays a binding role in Los Positos’ future.
And Akokán is devoted to exactly that: the future of Los Positos. When the Cuban government began to discuss taking the neighbourhood down and moving its residents on in 2016, Michel and a few other collaborative placemakers decided to take action. The government’s concerns were in sanitation and infrastructural danger. But through sustainability measures, empowerment and education, Akokán aims to resolve these challenges.
Sustainability
Akokán’s ambition for Los Pocitos is, first and foremost, to pave the way for truly sustainable development. The challenges that the community faces are clear to see; homes are ‘home-made’, and there’s a build-up of refuse in the streets and in the river – a product of there being no formal refuse collection service in this informal neighbourhood.
However, as Michel points out, underprivileged communities are typically the most sustainable in their lifestyles. Few have cars, few have air conditioning units, few travel much further than the boundaries of the neighbourhood. Indeed, many houses are constructed from recycled waste materials. The people of Los Pocitos are naturally resourceful, and in turn naturally sustainable.
While the Akokán project is unlocking ways of being more creative with the reuse of everyday rubbish, another of its more significant projects is devoted to exploring the possibilities of bamboo infrastructure. This project has involved a team of university students, who are uncovering exciting opportunities to grow bamboo on site, using it as both a food source and a building material.
Los Pocitos is well on its way to becoming one of Cuba’s first sustainable developments.
Empowerment
A major and central strand of the work that Akokán does is in community outreach and support. For the project’s success, it is essential to have the community’s buy-in. Equally, building a strong sense of belonging and self-determination among residents will enable them to take the project on themselves.
An important step in this process is building an open dialogue in which taboo subjects can be broached. For a long time, the people of Los Pocitos have been described by government officials as a ‘marginal community’, and such loaded language has caused a natural reluctance among the people to talk about marginalisation or poverty. A simple but important part of what Akokán does is in putting residents back in control of the conversation – starting by letting them take the lead on the language. There is nothing ‘marginal’ about the people of Los Pocitos.
Akokán also puts residents in the driving seat through regular workshops and forums. Most recently, a monthly workshop has been launched for children in Los Pocitos, in which they’re being invited to dream up their ideal homes and public spaces.
In fact, beyond dreaming up the incredible and imaginative ideas that are typical of young people, the children of Los Pocitos are also showing a strong awareness of what makes a functional place – incorporating areas for shade, play, reflection and socialising into their plans. The workshop is a powerful lesson for children that they can and should have an influence over the places they love.
Education
Education is truly the central driving force of Akokán. Hinging form Michel’s academic background, there is a real desire to be truly experimental and cutting-edge with the social and scientific measures being introduced in Los Pocitos. In Michel’s words, this is a ‘living laboratory’.
As part of this commitment to education, Akokán has been working to supply small scholarships and bonuses for students wishing to participate in the project. Perhaps even more importantly, the project team are also working to identify and train community leaders who have the capacity to take on new measures for Los Positos. As Michel believes, it is this education and training that can bridge the gap between top-down placemaking (which tends to misunderstand communities) and grassroots placemaking (which tends to overlook complex infrastructural, economic and social requirements). Akokán provides that bridge.
Los Pocitos: towards a sustainable future
If strong placemaking can come from unexpected places, Los Pocitos is living proof of that. This is a deprived, informal neighbourhood that suffers from lack of permanence, resource and security.
Yet the sense community, shared identity and belonging among the people of Los Pocitos is clear to see. This place is their home, and through the help of Akokán, residents are coming together to save it.
