Dayan Marrero and other Cubans utilize creative solutions to navigate rolling electricity blackouts and fuel shortages
Cubans are increasingly adopting creative household inventions and independent energy systems to manage rolling electricity blackouts and fuel shortages caused by the US oil blockade and reduced energy imports. Dayan Marrero, a computer science student, uses Instagram to share practical tips on conserving phone battery, storing food without a refrigerator, and finding mobile internet signals. In the city of Viñales, Osiris Hernandez, a tour guide, operates a boat and provides guest rooms in his home, using charcoal fires to cook and solar panels with inverters to power household appliances. Nearby, Osnel Corrales and his family at El Olivo agroecological farm use solar panels and batteries to produce dairy products, pasteurizing milk over charcoal due to a lack of fuel for their industrial generator. In Havana, a private fleet of solar-powered electric tricycles has emerged to provide public transportation. Augusto, a driver, operates a tricycle that can carry six passengers and charges via solar panels or the power grid. These diverse methods, and the use of traditional techniques like hand-grinding coffee, demonstrate how residents are adapting to the island's current energy and fuel constraints.
Sources
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Cubans are coming up with creative ways to generate power when their island has almost none left
CNN
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Cuban Families Turn Solar Power and DIY Hacks Into Tools for Surviving Blackouts
Межа. Новини України.
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A Window Glowing in the Middle of the Blackout
Havana Times