A video showcasing the process of obtaining corojo oil, which has been used for cooking in Cuba during times of severe scarcity, is circulating on social media, highlighting that the nation is experiencing one of the worst economic crises in its history.
Although in Cuba the oil derived from the fruit known as corojo has been used in natural cosmetics and religious rituals, its use in cooking has been more common during times of severe economic hardship and scarcity.
"What Cubans need to do to cook with palm oil," noted a TikTok profile named Cuba sin filtros (@cubasinfiltros).
The shared video showcases the process of oil extraction, featuring an elderly man who patiently breaks apart the fruits to extract the nuts inside.
Another person specified that the viscous liquid is extracted for cooking "because there is no oil here in Cuba," he pointed out.
The woman who made the video also showed the machine used to grind the seeds and explained that the waste is used for animal feed.
The oil is used for consumption as well as for sale, as a way to make a living, he noted.
In times of scarcity, Cubans resort to "invention."
Creativity knows no bounds, especially when it comes to the most consumed beverage in the Caribbean nation after water: coffee.
Activist Irma Broek shared a video on Facebook showing a man brewing the black nectar of the white gods using a welding torch: "Here we are trying to make coffee because we have no electricity, no gas, nothing."
Recently, a Cuban revealed on social media that residents of rural towns in the province of Holguín are using a "invention" made from a pressure cooker lid that acts as an antenna to improve internet connectivity.
A user shared on the Facebook profile "Holguín en fotos" that as they approached the town of Bariay, in the municipality of Rafael Freyre, they noticed many houses with something resembling a television antenna on the outside, "but strange."
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