(Click photos to enlarge).
Atabey, Taino representation of Mother-earth
A Conuco is a Taino gardening practice. They are mounded gardens, however they were not considered just gardens, they were living spirits, alive. This life is evident, just look under the soil and there is a world of life. While this life may be disregarded by many who are disconnected from the earth, maybe even thought of as “gross”, it is influential to the fertility and health of the Conuco. My Taino Ancestors, of course knew this, as they were connected to The Earth, Atabey, and all her life. Today many people see things such as worms and other beneficial insects, as a “gross” and “undesirable”, this is sad, to see how disconnected people have become.
On our land, my family and I have many Conucos. I can remember the creating of almost all of them. When we started making these Conucos, we didn’t have any machinery and did it all by hand. I remember ever since I was young, dragging branches and planting seeds in these Conucos.
Our Conuco a few years back. (L to R) white sage, 3 kinds of tobacco, (the one with the white flowers is fragrant at night), Hopi blue corn and Sunflowers.
When we began making these Conucos, as I stated before, we did not have machinery, such as a tractor, so we did it by hand. Several years back we got a small tractor. We use this tractor, something that has been used for so long as a weapon against Atabey, as a tool to help us repair the damage done to this land for so many years. On one of the first Conucos we created, I remember dragging branches, (I believe they were walnut) and piling them up. After piling these branches up, we put oak pallets, straw (old animal bedding), manure, even old clothes and then we put soil on top of them. Many other things went into them as well, such as stones, minerals, metals, animal bones, shells, and so many other things. In the above picture I hold a stone from El Yunque, which my family has had for more than 20 years now. This stone holds special significance, since it is from a very special and sacred place, my ancestral homeland of Borinquen (Puerto Rico).
Our Taino Ancestors traditionally used other methods to fertilize the Conuco. One of the most important fertilizers was Bat Guano (manure) that came from caves. Another important fertilizer was scraps from their seafood, (shells etc) and other food scraps.
Me and my little brother, Hatuey (7).
The way I see a Conuco, it is a collection of Spirits, it is a like a smaller version of the Earth herself. It contains wood, soil, animal bones, stones, plants, minerals, shells, metals and many other things. The Conuco is full of life, from the little bugs, worms and beneficial fungi and bacteria to the plants that we grow on it. Because the Conuco is full of so much life, it all ties together, the plants benefit from the worms and fungi and because we NEVER plant just one type of plant or “mono-crop”, bees and butterflies pollinate the plants. The whole system flows together and allows all life to flourish. Of course the Taino Ancestors knew the importance of planting a variety of plants, not just a field of the same plants, knowing that if one plant failed, there would be others to sustain the people. The evil Spaniards who landed on our shores and commenced to murder us, had no understanding of this. They brought wheat to the Caribbean, and were actually scared of the Taino vegtables, like Yuca, Namé, and Batata, among other things. Their wheat crop failed, of course, and they nearly starved.
Atabey, Taino representation of Mother-Earth
Today we see fields of crops like corn, there is not diversity and at the slightest sign of it, chemical poisons are hurriedly sprayed. Not only killing the weeds, but destroying microorganisms, insects, worms, killing bees and other pollinators and poisoning the soil and water. The ancestors would certainly be horrified seeing this type of “non-farming” and complete disrespect for Atabey and her life. Not to mention that this a completely nonsensical way of “farming”, requiring huge amounts of fuel, chemicals and “fertilizers” just to keep the plant, in this case corn, alive. These “farmers” never give anything back to the earth. In fact the land that my family and I now caretake was abused in the ways that I stated above. The farmer who used to own it, grazed sheep and cows, felled trees, and sprayed chemicals, never giving anything back to the Earth. Giving back has been our primary action since we came here. The results are undeniable and Conucos have been an instrumental part of that healing.
The same Conuco that I am sitting on above and on the left, in 2015. The offerings of pumpkins, squash and gourds were all grown on this land. You can see how much growth has happened in the last few years. The Empress Tree that now shades the spot was much smaller then, since they are very fast growing trees. The Conuco behind the one with the Cemiis now full of tall Elderberries, that have grown at a tremendous rate and now produce fruit. 
The same Conuco, another view. The fast growing Empress Tree is much smaller here. The Conuco to the left is now full of elderberries that produce fruit and small trees that we will transplant to other places on the land. (2015)
Note: I will also state clearly, that the Taino Ancestors, of course, had none of this machinery and modern technology and made Conucos, Bateys and Cemis among other things, that far surpassed what we can do today with all our modern technology and machinery. Because, of course they were grounded in the spirit, connected with the earth and were extraordinary artists and “engineers” if you will, (for lack of better words), among many other things. After all, look at the Taino representation of the Hurakan (Hurricane). Hundreds of years before there was a satellite image of the Hurricane, they were able to create an accurate representation of it. They would not have been able to do this without being connected to the spirit, having great understanding of the cycles in the sky and weather, and connected to Atabey, MotherEarth.
The Taino Hurakan (Hurricane).
Our Ancestors are keeping us alive and we are keeping them alive through the conuco. We are contributing to the dismantling of the myth of extinction. Our continuation of these traditions, ie. Conucos, show that our Taino Ancestors are alive and they never died. They live on in us and so long as we continue these traditions and never forget them, they are alive and never die.
I affirm that our Ancestors continue to live on and are never forgotten.
I affirm that people continue to wake up to the Earth Changes that are happening.
I affirm that our Ancestors continue to guide us.
I affirm that the Ancestors help us and guide us to stand up to the behaviors that are destroying this Earth and are negatively affecting us all.
I affirm that our Ancestors continue to stand up and never let us give up and forget who we are.
I affirm that the Ancestors continue to inspire new awareness and consciousness. We are Taino and we will never let our Ancestors die.
Voice of the Water Lily 