by Ricardo Herrera
"Necessity is the mother of all invention" goes the old proverb, and few countries in the world have tested its saliency quite like Cuba. A suffocating half-century mix of communist socio-economic policies and blanket U.S. sanctions have forged a people for whom the need to "resolver" - improvising solutions by repurposing the scarce resources around you - has become more than just a way of life. It is arguably the only way most of them are able to create value in their society. To many in Cuba, the "resolver" mindset represents the defiant and indomitable spirit of the Cuban people. To others who once took pride in what their country had accomplished before or immediately after the Revolution (depending on their politics), it is a persistent and embarrassing reminder of the failures of their system. Yet, it turns out that during this time of change for the Caribbean island, this same ethos is increasingly becoming something to celebrate, and more importantly, to study. As Cuba seeks to reintegrate itself into the global economy, its harsh conditions have inadvertently given fruit to one of the greatest assets a workforce can possess in the 21st century: a deep-rooted culture of constraint-based innovation and collective ingenuity - one that often remains at odds with the government's rigid central planning offices. |
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The bizarre, brilliant and useful inventions of Cuban DIY engineers
Long walled off from world trade and modern technology, Cuba has developed a robust culture of DIY engineers who turn household items into useful inventions. Water pump motors propel bicycles, clothes dryers are repurposed into coconut shredders. Cuban artist Ernesto Orza has spent the last decade photographing and collecting many of these creations.
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The Story of Luis Grass
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by Richard E. Feinberg
Now that President Barack Obama is normalizing diplomatic relations with Cuba, the U.S. government will try to teach Cuba about market economics and political pluralism. Certainly Cuba faces many challenges: low wages and low labor productivity, severe shortages of basic consumer products, and repressive one-party politics. We can usefully promote free enterprise and individual initiative, marketplace incentives and risk management, freedom of expression and habeas corpus, government transparency and popular accountability. But we should also stop a minute and recognize that we have much to learn from Cuba, too. |
Where do you go
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When Cuban bikini maker Victor Rodríguez visited Miami this month, he was on a pilgrimage – not just for bathing suits but for bandwidth.
The most important stop on Rodríguez’s schedule was lunch in Wynwood, Miami’s high-tech district, with Mel Valenzuela, who owns the online swimwear store Pretty Beachy.
As Valenzuela showed Rodríguez how to do business online, his awestruck expression seemed to evoke José Arcadio Buendía in “One Hundred Years of Solitude,” who when he first touches ice declares it “the great invention of our time.”
“My eyes light up,” said Rodríguez, “when I see how greatly the Internet could expand my horizons as a business owner.” Read more
Arte Corteowned by Papito
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O2
owned by twin sisters
Omara y Odalys |
Nostalgicarsowned by husband and wife
Julio and Nidialys |
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