Cuba Resorts to Clay to Save Energy
HAVANA TIMES, July 5 — The Cuban authorities hope to generalize the use of hand-made fired clay devices to increase the efficiency of electric rings and in this way reduce energy consumption in the residential sector, reported the local press. It is estimated that 20 percent of the power spent in the island’s homes is for cooking food, reported IPS.
Whatever works — tho’ what these things actually are is not made clear in this article.
Still; in my idea of an even minimally-functioning socialist democracy, every neighborhood council would be running at least one communal cafeteria, where a lot of people would be going for their prepared cooked dishes — often prepared by themselves as they took their turn running the thing. And this setup would naturally be a lot more efficient, electrically, than having a myriad of inefficient home units operating every single nite, just because people continue on with an individualistic praxis left over from the old system. Same would go with the washing, etc.
There really should be a program to encourage this vision of an alternate society in Cuba — and finally offer up the real promise of a functioning socialism. And there’s nothing too like simply *building* something — and creating a good example up front (not simply a “model” this or that, in the worst stalinist sense of the word). So the government really should have a program to devolve power to the neighborhood councils, and to communalize things which could be easily — and voluntarily — collectivized.