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Alemanes Express, a small and medium-sized enterprise located in the José Martí neighborhood of Santa Clara, achieved complete energy self-sufficiency through the installation of solar panel systems and opened an electric charging station for local residents, completely disconnecting from the National Electroenergetic System (SEN).
The initiative provides direct relief to residents of the neighborhood amidst the severe energy crisis facing Cuba, where the SEN recorded a deficit of 931 MW against a demand of 2,560 MW this past Monday, according to data from Unión Eléctrica on the national electric system.
José Ángel González Alemán, leader of Alemanes Express, started as a Self-Employed Worker and transformed his project into a MIPYME that now employs around twenty workers from the same neighborhood.
"Alemanes Express is currently a source of secure employment, offering a decent salary, suitable conditions, and transportation facilities," González explained.
The company markets household appliances and boasts of selling directly without intermediaries, which reduces the final cost for consumers, and expanded its reach by installing solar panels that provided total energy independence.
But the community initiatives of the MIPYME go beyond energy.
The company eliminated illegal dumping sites in the vicinity of its facilities and built an organoponic garden on that land, where it grows bananas, pumpkins, carrots, tomatoes, and beets. These small projects serve as a significant challenge to the Cuban regime and its numerous state entities that fail to implement ideas like these.
"We set ourselves the task of transforming the organization's surroundings, removing illegal dumping sites, and on that land, we established an organic farm where we now cultivate bananas, pumpkins, carrots, tomatoes, and beets, which are intended for the elementary school, the maternity home, and the SAF (Family Assistance System) for the elderly," González Alemán detailed.
This is complemented by the company's involvement in garbage collection in the neighborhood and its contribution, alongside other projects and organizations, to the restoration and repair of several health institutions in the province. This again highlights that private business models—historically disparaged by the government—end up taking on functions that the state fails to provide.
Alemanes Express is currently in the incubation process at the Scientific and Technological Park of Villa Clara, allowing it to consolidate strategic alliances to strengthen its model.
This MIPYME joins a private ecosystem of renewable energies gaining prominence in Cuba, where Villa Clara already has 208 private entities operating solar installations that generate 5.5 MW.
On April 4th, the first "solinera" in the province was inaugurated in the Virginia popular council of Santa Clara, operated by the MIPYME Eléctrica Total, with the capacity to serve six vehicles and 52 cooking devices simultaneously, completely disconnected from the SEN. This is part of a trend where MIPYMEs are gaining prominence as technology and energy service providers.
In that same context, other local initiatives are exploring alternative solutions in response to the blackouts and lack of transportation in Cuba, while projects like Alemanes Express demonstrate that the impact of a micro, small, and medium-sized enterprise can extend far beyond its main commercial activity.
"Alemanes Express bets on collective effort through unity to navigate the complex scenario we are facing today," concludes the report from Soy Villa Clara, a profile of the regime that chronicles the history of this company from Villa Clara.
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