Beginning in 1968, a new comprehensive plan got underway in the eastern part of the Sierra del Rosario. That project embraced some 12,355 acres of land and was aimed at taking care of countryside people. A process of restoring the vanished woods got cracking on the basis of a fixed platform terracing system that eventually halted soil erosion and built the underpinnings of a land preservation policy. From that moment on, the Sierra del Rosario Plan had been born.

Terracing allowed the planting and treatment of new woodlands. Roughly six million trees were planted by hundreds of men and women involved in a gigantic and historic task whose upshots have handed down a legacy of nature restoration and conservation.

This experience was complemented three years later when the Las Terrazas community came into being. This paradise-like urban layout made the dream of clustering scattered populations come true. The new housing project included access of the local population to such basic services as healthcare, education, culture, sports and recreation. It also spurred the creation of new jobs linked to the restoration of ecosystems.

The process was based on a system of successive and layered terraces up in the mountains that eventually turned out to be streets with houses lined up in rows on both sides that later gave way to two-story family buildings.

The rich natural and historic-cultural heritage, as well as the level of organization achieved along the way by the local population played a key role in handpicking the area as a nature travel destination. The theoretical concept of local sustainable development was then applied as the first experimental project of its kind in Cuba. So far, this experience has improved living conditions for thousands of residents and has helped the preservation of the natural environment.

The rescue and stimulation of cultural traditions are now one of this area's major strengths, underlining local values in which historic heritage, music and the fine arts are the undisputed and genuine foundations of a local culture that's highly coveted and admired by visitors from around the world. Las Terrazas is an environmental reference site. Its image with a multitude of shapes and colors worth taking a firsthand look at.