A bakery worker in the Breña community, in Cumanayagua, Cienfuegos, carries firewood on his shoulder from the nearby hills every day to keep the oven running so the community can have bread, as shown in a video posted on Facebook by Yasma Duardo.
The man, identified as Wilfredo, explains in the clip that his daily work involves searching for firewood in the woods and transporting it manually to the bakery. “Here I work at the bakery and I’m the one who brings the firewood to the bakery,” he says. When asked if he has to do it every day, he answers without hesitation, “Every day.”
What stands out the most is the method of transportation. Without a cart or loading equipment, Wilfredo carries the logs on his shoulder.
The bakery didn't always operate this way. Wilfredo remembers that it used to run with a blowtorch powered by electricity and oil. Now, without fuel or reliable electricity, the firewood collected from the hills is the only resource available. "It's been a few years now working with wood," he notes while referring to the oven in the place.
In addition to his work at the bakery, Wilfredo also works at a private dairy farm, which adds to an already exhausting workload.
The case of Wilfredo is not unique. Cuba has returned to wood-fired ovens to produce bread in the midst of 2026, with bakeries in Holguín, Matanzas, Guantánamo, Havana, and Camagüey resorting to pre-industrial methods due to the inability to operate with electricity or fuel.
In Guantánamo, flour is transported by mules and bread is baked with firewood. In Jovellanos, Matanzas, nine workers produce more than 6,000 loaves of bread daily using an oil oven converted to firewood. In Holguín, a bakery with a firewood oven only serves 50% of the population working extra shifts.
The Cuban government has presented these solutions as "creativity" or "circular economy." In September 2025, the government of Camagüey officially inaugurated a wood-fired oven in a bakery, presenting it as a response to the energy crisis.
The shortage of flour worsens the situation. The Ministry of Food Industry only received 55% of the wheat expected in the first half of 2025, and in Mayabeque the shortage of flour has reduced bread distribution to once every four days. In the informal market, prices in Havana reach 500 pesos for a bag of eight units.
The video from Breña also reveals another structural issue: the water tank that supplies the entire community relies on electric pumps. "When there's a problem with the power, there's no way to pump water here," warns Wilfredo, summarizing in a single sentence how blackouts not only turn off the lights but also cut off water and bread.
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