Mayabeque, Cuba: La Estrella mini-industry, located in the municipality of Quivicán, is one of the alternatives for farmers in this town to process crops, add value to products and prevent crops from being lost.
With more than fifteen years of work, this small factory produces, in an artisanal way, between half and a ton of food for the population’s consumption daily, which is enough to supply, at least, more than 400 families for a week.
“We build the equipment ourselves in a small workshop that we have in our premises. First we made the tomato processor, then the mango pulper, the boilers, etc, and so we were achieving everything, little by little”, Roberto Ruiz Corvo, head of the La Estrella mini-industry explained.
“Right now we are finishing a heated area for the packaging process, which will ensure greater safety of the products we make here,” he added.
In addition to its production volume, La Estrella also has a wide range of products that it makes from what is harvested in the different periods of the year.
“Here we process tomatoes to obtain derivatives such as puree, paste and hot sauce, we also make seasoned sauce, vinegar, dry wine, bay leaf and mango pulp”, Ruiz Corvo explained.
Precisely, when this report was made, the workers of this mini-industry were processing tomatoes, from which the much-demanded puree is obtained, a product with guaranteed quality.
“Here we cook it before grinding it, because it gives us greater yield; then we cook it again so that it acquires a better flavor, color, smell, texture and meets all quality parameters”, concluded the owner of this small artisan factory.
Although they are not the solution to the food situation that the country is experiencing today, mini-industries such as La Estrella help to reverse this complex context, preventing crops from being lost and producing new offers for the population’s consumption.
