A Cuban named Yatmara Bernal published a video on Facebook showcasing the handmade charcoal stove her husband constructed from materials found on the street, an image that encapsulates better than any official speech the true state of Cuba in 2026.
The device doesn't contain any purchased parts: the main body is an old electric meter box that was no longer useful, with a hole to allow for the passage of oxygen. "This is an old electric meter box that wasn't working. He made this big hole here so that oxygen can pass through and the coal can ignite properly," the woman explains.
The base is a metal box filled with dirt to insulate the heat from the cardboard bottom. Two metal grids complete the design: one holds the charcoal and the other serves as a removable drawer for collecting the accumulated ash.
The fire is started with wooden sticks and a matchbox. To encourage the flame, a detail that reveals the ingenuity behind necessity: "Very important, I use this small rechargeable fan to keep it blowing here, and it catches the flame," says Yatmara as she demonstrates how the tips of the charcoal turn red with the forced oxygen.
Even the size of the coal is calculated. "I've made big pieces and tiny pieces because the tiny ones ignite better, that is, they ignite faster, while the big ones make it last longer," he explains.
This homemade stove is not just a curiosity or an anecdote: it is the response of millions of Cubans to the simultaneous collapse of the electricity supply and liquefied gas.
In Santiago de Cuba, power outages last up to 20 hours a day; in areas of Matanzas and La Lisa, cuts of up to 87 consecutive hours have been reported. On July 10, a failure in the transmission line between Santa Clara and Sancti Spíritus caused the fourth total blackout of the year, leaving millions of people without electricity.
The liquefied gas has disappeared from the formal market for months. In January, the tanker Emilia returned empty to Cuba because the State was unable to pay for the fuel. In May, 10 kg cylinders began to be sold on online platforms for $29, turning a basic necessity into a dollarized luxury item.
The coal has become the emergency fuel for the entire Island, but its price reflects the skyrocketing demand: the can that used to cost 200 pesos is now sold for 800 pesos in Santiago de Cuba, and the five-can sack reaches 4,000 pesos, nearly double the monthly minimum wage.
The paradox is striking: Cuba exported 61.8 million dollars in charcoal in 2023, and in the first quarter of 2026, a company from Camagüey exported over 150 tons to Europe while the population had no fuel for cooking.
The massive use of coal under precarious conditions has led to serious accidents. On June 14, a nine-month-old baby suffered burns in Santiago de Cuba.
Animal rights activist Yenney Caballero burned her hand while cooking with charcoal for her dogs during a blackout that lasted over 24 hours in San José de las Lajas.
The regime, far from offering structural solutions, promotes "creative resistance" as the official response to the crisis, until Miguel Díaz-Canel himself admitted on June 18, during the Extraordinary Plenary of the Central Committee, that this slogan "is no longer enough."
In June, there were 107 street protests recorded in Cuba, a historical record, while Cubans continue to create makeshift stoves with whatever they find on the streets.
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