To be or not to be State or Private
The early morning sunlight was fantastic for photos. My usual morning walks around the city streets captured a few good photos. With these big breakfasts adding more weight to our expanding waistlines I need to walk to Trinidad but we board the bus.
Leaving Cienfuegos, the roads are rough and narrow. Workers are mowing the sides of the roads with machetes. Our first glimpse of the Cuban mountains came into view and we passed mango orchards.
Our first stop is a visit with Cuba's largest botanical park. Our botanical guide, Tanie met us at the gate and guided us down the road leading to the park offices. Along the way she gave us a detailed explanation of many of the botanical specimens in the park. The botanical garden was founded and maintained by Harvard University until the Revolution when the Cuban government laid claim to the gardens and continued to develop the grounds. Very educational.
Our next stop was just down the road at Pepito Tey. A former sugar plantation with slaves, held by one family for many years. The old plantation house was still standing, although not very well. We visited the local ration store, took a look at one of the resident’s ration card, and got a rundown on the items residents could purchase at the store and their costs. Very informative but I still don’t completely understand the system, although I do know a wee bit more about the system than I did just a few days ago. Some ice cream was just delivered in the village and along with some of the local residents it was too much to pass up. Made with the real cream it was good stuff and very fattening
Closing in on Trinidad we stopped at a roadside fruit stand. This was another example of the relaxation of Cuban rules that allowed people to obtain a business license to set up shop in their home. The owners, Elive and Modesto provided samples of some exotic fruits that we had never experienced. Very good. They also opened up their home to show us their progress making some home improvements. By our standards we might say, oh my, how can they live here. But reality check for all of us. Elive and Modesto were very happy with their accomplishments and proud of their business success and of the improvements they were making to their home to accommodate their family. Proud entrepreneurship and proud home ownership at its best. You go get’em Elive and Modesto. I hope to see a supermarket on your property when I return.
Trinidad, another Cuban architectural treasure, is situated about 6 miles from the coast. One of the oldest cities in Cuba, it was founded in 1514 and has a population of 73.000. It’s Spanish colonial architecture stands out. Its economy of the past was based on sugar and tobacco. Today, it’s biggest revenue generator is tourism.
Our mission today was to compare state run enterprise with private enterprise. The first stop was a state run weaving factory, where baskets and other items using palm weaving material were made. A relatively small operation, tucked back in the middle of a residential area with about 10 weavers doing their trade. The building construction is a hodgepodge of materials, with roof trusses being hand fabricated from rebar and no insulation or air conditioning. Windows with no screens open and a few fans provide the ventilation and cooling and I can only imagine how hot it might get in the intense summer heat. Various hand constructed tables, chairs and some ancient industrial sized sewing machines represented the only equipment that was in use. The sewing machines were powered by a single motor turning a single drive shaft with unprotected pulleys. I don’t think they are meeting our OSHA standards, but it works. The workers were mostly women and all of the weaving was done by hand.
Through Yadi’s excellent translation skills, we were able to pose questions to the workers and discuss their work freely. Their day is usually an 8-hour day and they work 5 days a week. Many of the workers had been doing the same job for many years. The pay, like most Cuban state run facilities, compared to the pay we are accustomed to in the US, was very low. Apparently additional income is made by doing the same trade at home and selling their product privately. With the socialist support structure of rations, health care and education, they don’t prosper but they say they get by.
Some of us took some beginner lessons in weaving from the workers. My weaving partner was the only male worker in the building. He was deaf and could not speak. But with hand motions, facial expressions and other forms of non-verbal communication, I clumsily did a few lines of weaving on a basket. He showed his approval with a big smile and a big O hand signal.
Our next stop was a privately owned family pottery operation. Azariel Santander is the owner and he has assembled what appears to be a very successful enterprise. The facilities, in a residential area, built around his home, were much more modern. The products were well displayed for sale and the workers, while not paid by our standards, were apparently a little better paid than the state run enterprise workers. It is a complete set up with the clay material being brought in from the mountains to be screened and processed by hand before it is used in their pottery making. We observed some very skilled craftspeople and with their focus on entrepreneurial success, we were given ample opportunity to separate our excess CUC$s from our pockets.
The two visits gave us a good look at the contrast between state run enterprise and private enterprise. I suppose both have their fit in this evolving Cuban system of economics, but the private enterprise we observed demonstrates well the creativity, motivation and power of private entrepreneurial efforts. The big question the Cuban policy makers must think about every day is the direction this struggling economy is taking and what is the transitional pain that will be felt as private and state run enterprise competes for the heart, soul and pocketbook of the Cuban workers.
Finally, in late afternoon, we arrive at the Hotel La Ronda, our bedtime home for the next three nights. Located on a narrow but busy street, directly near a little plaza and the city government building, the hotel is tucked into the adjoining buildings. It doesn’t look like much from the outside. With a small entry lobby and adjoining dining room it opens up into a small courtyard with all of the rooms facing into the courtyard. With a small number of rooms, its compactness and a staff that was going overboard to please, this turned out to be one of our best hotel experiences.
Dinner was scheduled in a paladar, just a short walk from the hotel, near the center of old Trinidad. The Sol Ananda is a beautifully furnished paladar in a former sugar financed colonial mansion. A crowd of patrons, good food, the opportunity to talk with the owner and another night of good company with our fellow travelers made this a finish for another good day on the Cuban trail.
To Be or Not To Be - State or Private
Monday, November 30, 2015
Trinidad, Cuba
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