“The neighbors began to leave one by one. They took the doors, the windows, whatever they could, and they grabbed Manatí, to try to survive.”
14ymedio, Havana, 13 February 2025 — At 800 pesos a sack in Sancti Spíritus; at 1,000 in Cienfuegos; at 1,400 in Holguín: the price of charcoal – black gold for Cubans in a year that already broke the record of electricity deficit – rises to the rhythm of a country without options for cooking or lighting. In that context, the dismantling of Las Carboneras, a town that lived by manufacturing and selling this product, complicates the energy landscape in Las Tunas.
Despite the urgency caused by the debacle of the electrical system, charcoal production in Las Tunas is going through a bad time. The municipal company Agroforestal had only two producers on staff, and they recently resigned. Now they work, according to the director, with intermittent operators, who “come, set up an oven and leave.”
No carbonero can earn much. The State pays 15 pesos per kilogram of charcoal; until recently there were only four producers, and they had to provide the bag, which costs 500 pesos. The price on the informal market is triple that figure, and, in addition, now the buyer has to provide the empty bag.
The children of the place were “predestined” to be carboneros and drunks, to withstand the misery, and the “mythical onslaught of mosquitoes” was an everyday occurrence
Las Carboneras did not have more than 10 houses, Periódico 26 reports, but it was the leader in charcoal production in the province. The town was an extremely poor place, on the way to the municipality of Puerto Manatí. The children of the place were “predestined” to be charcoal producers and drunks, to withstand the misery and the “mythical onslaught of mosquitoes,” an everyday occurrence.
“The residents began to leave one by one. They took the doors, the windows, what they could, and headed for Manati, to try to survive,” explains Enrique Pérez, a carbonero since he was nine years old.
The silhouette of the town’s large ovens was unmistakable. Each oven produced 100 full sacks, operated by barefoot workers without protection against fire, according to Pérez. Even at dawn an operator watched the pyres. People from Las Tunas went there to buy charcoal without intermediaries. Despite the harshness of the trade, “they defended a private business,” and that contributed to their effort.
Without attributing the debacle to the State, Pérez recalls how the people were losing everything. First, the school closed, forcing the children to walk several kilometers, along a path full of marabou, to go to the nearest classroom. They came back at night. Then the ration store, with a few secure provisions for the oldest farmers, disappeared.
“There was no other choice. People had to leave,” Pérez continued. “To make charcoal you have to be at work when the sun rises, and there is no way to go around looking for food, at least not every day. We stopped receiving the chicken, the minced meat…”
Pérez continues to maintain some ovens in Las Carboneras, encouraged by the increase in the price of charcoal
After 30 years of living from his work in Las Carboneras, and besieged by the thieves and bandits of the area, Pérez also left. “I endured everything I could, but they stole my animals; one night three men came and even threatened us. My wife got nervous, and every time the dog barked, she began to cry.”
Now they live in an improvised shack in Puerto Manatí, but they say they are “calm.” Pérez continues to maintain ovens in Las Carboneras, encouraged by the rise in the price of charcoal. However, he is clear with the Communist Party newspaper in Las Tunas: “Money is not enough for me! This doesn’t pay anything. Making charcoal is very hard.”
“As expected, the charcoal producers ask for clothes, shoes, files (to sharpen the machetes). They are specialized workers,” explains the director of the Agroforestry of Las Tunas. “Recently we have given them files, machetes, mochas (a flat kind of machete), in small quantities.” But production hasn’t taken off.
Immersed in abandonment and surrounded by marabou, the local authorities have been clear about Las Carboneras: “There is no longer any way to recover the community.”*
*Translator’s note: Charcoal, also called “coal,” is vegetal, made from trees. The industry is now industrialized and is one of Cuba’s largest export products.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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