Bike chain lock on outdoor kitchen in Viñales
Cubans are great at recycling, reusing, repurposing and modifying objects to extend their usefulness. The limited availability of resources caused by both the communist state policies and US embargo have forced their frugality and ingenuity. This was especially true when the Soviet Union collapsed, causing the 1990s Special Period when extreme rationing occurred.
This hardship-induced resourcefulness has had a positive consequence of lower waste levels, reducing environmental pollution.
Following are some of the examples of frugality and ingenuity Rocío and I saw on our Cuba trip.
Cannons reused as bollards in Old Havana
A cannonball bollard in Old Havana
Palm leaves used as a screen to shield world leaders arriving to Fidel Castro’s Havana memorial
Bike in Baracoa with a wooden second seat added
Another Baracoa bicycle, this time the wooden seat is being used
Plant pots made from animal skulls, plastic bottles and lids and a tin can at Jardín de los Helechos, Santiago de Cuba
Hook rack made from binder rings behind bathroom door in a Havana house
Roasting spit in Old Havana made from scrap timber, piping and corrugated metal
Both sides of a give way sign in Havana made out of old paint cans
Rotary clotheslines designed for balconies and welded from reinforcing rod in Pinar del Río
A colourful rug made from rags in Havana
White polystyrene foam divides a shared Havana balcony
This Soroa litter bin is constructed from palm leaves and sticks
Custom-made novelty advertising bikes in Havana
Cardboard giving an old seat new life in Havana
A carry bag made from packaging originally used to import Argentinean rice, Santiago de Cuba
A Baracoa chocolate bar wrapped with pharmaceutical aluminium foil
A Cuban flag provides a makeshift curtain for this Baracoa house
Boys playing baseball on a Santiago de Cuba street using a stick for a bat and small, plastic medicine bottles for balls
A home-made horse-drawn wagon using car wheels and other spare parts in Baracoa
Drink glasses cut from Havana Club rum bottles, Pinar del Río
Corona beer bottles cut to create juice glasses at Baracoa café
A bench seat plank replaced with a piece of hewn timber at Museo Arqueológico La Cueva del Paraíso, Baracoa
This is pretty incredible. Makes me realize everything I need is all around me.