Sodepaz has also begun exporting high-quality organic coffee produced in Guantanamo.
14ymedio, Havana, 29 March 2025 — A Spanish NGO is threatening to overthrow Italy’s control of Cuban coffee. Sodepaz, with three decades of presence on the island, is expanding rapidly—financed by Spanish government funds—and has begun exporting high-quality organic coffee produced in Guantánamo. As if that weren’t enough, as part of an optimization project, it has opened up the possibility of installing solar farms in the eastern part of the country and, if necessary, “small hydroelectric or wind systems.”
“On March 24, 2025, we will begin distributing BIO coffee from Cuba. A Caracolillo robusta coffee from the eastern Cuban province, medium natural roast, produced in the mountains of Guantánamo and Santiago de Cuba by the cooperatives of the Agroforestry Group of Cuba and processed by the joint venture BioCubaCafé,” explains Sodepaz on its website.
In addition to coffee, the organization has expanded its interests on the island in recent years, and has in its stores a variety of Cuban products such as cane sugar “from the Carlos Baliño mill in Santa Clara” (4.10 euros per kilogram), Santiago de Cuba Carta Blanca rum (12 euros), Cubay añejo rum (16 euros) and now the BIO Frente Oriental coffee (5.60 euros for 250 grams).
The new project, Innova Café Guantánamo, it is being carried out in collaboration with the province’s Center for Technological Applications for Sustainable Development (Catedes) and will last 24 months, extendable for another 12, to seek “sustainable solutions to the current situation of coffee production in Cuba’s easternmost province,” the official press explained. Neither the organizations nor the media revealed the funds allocated to deploying solar panels.
The initiative seeks to “transform the coffee value chain” through the use of renewable energy sources.
The initiative seeks to “transform the coffee value chain” through the use of renewable energy sources, as well as improve the sector’s efficiency. To this end, Catedes plans to “diagnose” coffee production and determine where solar energy is best used.
The municipalities that will benefit, at least in the initial phase, will be San Antonio del Sur, Maisí, Yateras, Guantánamo, and El Salvador. However, expansion is planned to include a total of eight coffee-growing territories in the province, alleviating “the current electricity problems,” according to the press, as paraphrased by Cadetes.
Sodepaz, more concerned about production, explained that the budget had been approved in 2024 and was intended to “strengthen production and support other projects such as ProdeCafé or MásCafé.” The latter was funded by the Italian Agency for Cooperation and Development, which has offices in Santiago de Cuba, Holguín, Guantánamo, and Granma.
Activities will also be held to promote Guantanamo coffee, which will be marketed through “fair trade networks.” According to the NGO, Spain is a major consumer of Cuban coffee, and with its help, it will be able to improve its quality.
“Innova Café is seeking immediate benefits that will include greater stability in bean processing with the development of solar dryers and heaters, reducing environmental pollution from waste, and reusing it in a way that contributes to the circular economy,” the state press added. All the equipment, it is understood, will be provided by the organization.
Frente Oriental is not the first Cuban coffee exported by Sodepaz, which also has a presence in Nicaragua, Palestine, and Haiti.
Frente Oriental is not the first Cuban coffee exported by Sodepaz, which also has a presence in Nicaragua, Palestine, and Haiti. In 2021, the organization began selling Extra Turquino Especial, made with a dark-roasted Arabica bean, also harvested in Guantánamo. The product’s launch coincided with that year’s UN vote against the US embargo, one of Sodepaz’s sworn enemies.
“Aware that there is a lack of united initiatives to break the blockade* and at the same time have an impact on the Cuban economy, these are the reasons why this project of importing, processing, and marketing Guantánamo coffee in a fair and supportive manner was born,” explains the project’s website.
Along with the rest of the agricultural industries on the Island, Cuban coffee is experiencing one of its worst periods. According to the National Statistics and Information Office production has fallen by 51% in the last five years—which has forced the Cuban government to define its priorities. The decision comes as no surprise: so while the ration stores have stopped receiving the packages, the exports — especially those guaranteed by international organizations — have not slowed down.
*Translator’s note: There is, in fact, no US ‘blockade’ on Cuba, but this continues to be the term the Cuban government prefers to apply to the ongoing US embargo. During the Cuban Missile Crisis the US ordered a Naval blockade (which it called a ‘quarantine’) on Cuba in 1962, between 22 October and 20 November of that year. The blockade was lifted when Russia agreed to remove its nuclear missiles from the Island. The embargo had been imposed earlier in February of the same year, and although modified from time to time, it is still in force.
____________
COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORK: The 14ymedio team is committed to practicing serious journalism that reflects Cuba’s reality in all its depth. Thank you for joining us on this long journey. We invite you to continue supporting us by becoming a member of 14ymedio now. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.