During her presentation at the 2016 Agrohack Conference, Tara Rodriguez (owner of “El Departamento de la Comida”) discusses why and how Agroecology is an economically viable, ecologically sound, and socially beneficial answer to Puerto Rico’s agricultural development.
Born and Raised in Santurce, Puerto Rico, Tara graduated from the School of Architecture at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY. From the age of 13, Tara has been working in photography, architecture, design, retail, art, construction and food, excelling in interdisciplinary projects focused on supporting “lo local”.
The project, “El Departamento de la comida”, was founded in 2010 and is a hybrid initiative that is always evolving and does not follow a particular model. “El Departamento de la comida” and their component Efecto Sombrilla, consist of a store, a group of volunteers, events focused on food education and consumption of crops gathered through responsible practices, a membership shopping and one of the only kitchens in Puerto Rico that only uses organic local produce 5 days a week.
“El Departamento de la comida” is dedicated to connecting the different elements of our chain of local foods, from production to consumption, using the exchange of information, social networks and even more importantly, the food and to strengthen a vital agro-ecological movement. Tara shares her story, both successes and failures, either in talks and casual conversations . She visit farms and agro-ecological projects in and out of Puerto Rico and loves to travel around the world, always discovering different sources of inspiration to increase happiness through food.
AGROHACK is a premier agriculture innovation summit whose purpose is to propel agriculture as a sustainable source of growth and economic development.