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Cuba's artisan soap makers lose sales to blackouts, inflation and the lack of inputs
The community of women entrepreneurs that emerged during the pandemic is cutting production, changing formulas or switching to imports, according to a report by IPS Cuba carried by Infobae.
Cuba's soap makers, a community of women entrepreneurs that emerged during the covid pandemic to earn income and make up for shortages, face blackouts, inflation, lack of transport and inputs unavailable in the country in 2026, according to a report by IPS Cuba carried by Infobae. The situation has cut sales, raised production costs and led some artisans to change their businesses or give up making soap locally.
Prolonged cuts to electricity and water affect day-to-day production, and the contraction of urban and intercity transport complicates both supply and delivery. Inflation also limits spending on products that are not among households' immediate priorities.
"Amid inflation, families' priority is food, and that has hit the trade: sales have fallen", said Liliana Núñez, who set up Lilus Habana six years ago, focused mainly on soap making, in remarks translated by Yamacoa. To keep going she created more affordable ranges and brought in raw materials previously absent from her formulas, such as animal fats.
María Carla Figuerola, of the Eco Rizos project and a facilitator for the trade, listed availability problems with beeswax, coconut oil, cocoa butter, caustic soda, honey and zeolite, on top of an exponential rise in prices. "Where there is a value chain, there are impacts", she said.
Dalgis Chaviano, head of the Sedavid project, offered diversification as a response to the blackouts and water restrictions: "If you can't make soap, you make oils, and if not, you start making jewellery". She added that exchange among entrepreneurs makes up for individual limits: "What one lacks, another may have, and the other way round".
International Artisan Soap Day brought together simultaneous activities in six Cuban cities for the first time on 24 October, with initiatives in Havana, Matanzas, Sancti Spíritus, Camagüey, Holguín and Santiago de Cuba. The shortage of medicines in pharmacies has also driven products tied to specific needs, such as natural treatments for head lice and skin care items.
Sources: Infobae
Data updated: 2026-11-11T16:15:00.000Z