"I've only had access to a combo once from abroad, for a donation through a friend."
It's not enough for me, it's really not enough for me
Yaima Reyes, 37, lives with her husband and two girls minors. Both adults, unemployed and with a ninth grade of schooling, reside in an isolated town in the province of Pinar del Río.
Who in your family usually does the shopping at the grocery store?
I generally make purchases at the grocery store, although there is no problem that my husband sometimes does them too, but hey, I am always the most present in the home.
I am a housewife, my husband works the land, to earn money he climbs palm trees, and I work... I don't know what to call it, I take care of, I don't know... a piece of land, where you have to maintain it, take care of the house, clean the house , veneer the patios.
How do you access food and in what percentage? (grocery markets, organic farms and fairs, black market, shipment of combos from abroad, purchase in MLC stores, labor incentives, others)
There are no markets nearby, I would have to go to La Palma, generally I almost never go out. I can go several months without leaving this place where I live. Here it is not customary to grow vegetables, that is, nobody sells them. My husband plants rice and beans, sometimes some food from a neighbor who gives it to me, because they know that I and my girls like it, but well, my husband does not usually plant food so far, he has only planted rice and beans .
I have only had access to a combo once from abroad, for a donation through a friend. In stores in MLC, in all this time I have never had the opportunity to buy anything. And black market, it could be said that some things like oil, guava bars, ham on some occasions... that has been what I have bought the most.
Approximately how much do you spend in a month to guarantee your family's diet? How much does it represent of your income?
The expenditure of money is according to my income, economically, I have months that I spend more money. Right now I would not be able to tell you exactly how much the expense is because I have never stopped to have an accounting, and say "I spent on this or that" simply, I put the money in my wallet and I take it as needed. My husband also gives me income that he makes, and I add it to mine. Yes, I could tell you that every month is not the same, there are months that my income may be greater and I have a greater consumption.
How many hours do you spend searching for and buying these foods?
As for the time to spend buying something or looking for it, it is not much. I live very close to the warehouse, it depends on when I get to the queue, where I should be in the queue: many times I have the first places, other times in the middle, other times last; so, I don't think it's more than 1 hour, it's not something that is daily either.
What subsidized products from the supply book do you consume most frequently? Do you leave any without removing in the month?
Well, I consume in my house all the products that come to the village, I have never left any without taking out, because really at some point they are all necessary….. they are all necessary because we do not have easy access to acquire these things, so solve a problem at a given time.
Well, I consume in my house all the products that come to the village, I have never left any without taking out, because really at some point they are all necessary...
How many days of the month would you say that the basic products of the notebook are enough for the family?
Well, the rice, which is the largest quantity, could last an average of up to 15 days, generally the daily consumption of rice in my house represents about 3 pounds of rice, between lunch and dinner. And since there are 28 pounds of rice, approximately 14-15 days. The other things, well, it depends, because they are small amounts, rice and sugar are the largest, sugar is 16 pounds, it's not enough, it really isn't enough.
Do you buy other “controlled”, “regulated” or “regulated” products by this system?
In this time of Covid we receive: chicken, detergent and oil on some occasions, something that is not common, because generally all this is acquired through the purchase in stores of currency collectors, but well, for a problem that…. let's say that of the government system, to prevent people from trafficking too much and so that there would be at least a minimum access of the entire population or the greatest amount of the population, it was done this way.
Do you use social networks to find out about supplies and prices in your area, for example, via Facebook or Telegram or WhatsApp groups?
In my case I don't use social networks for any of these things, in fact, since there is nothing nearby that you can buy or anything, I don't see the need to do so.
How many times a week do you consume: fish, red meat, white meat, dairy products, eggs, vegetables?
The consumption of meat depends on many factors, in my case the fish when my husband catches it, I could not tell you, in a month it may be consumed several times, perhaps a whole month passes and none is consumed. The same can happen with red meat, that is something that is scarce, at least not beef, you can't. For white meats we consume chicken; although the one that is consumed the most in my house is generally pork, which is the one that we have the most access to, because my husband sometimes does business and things like that; then instead of asking for money, he asks for a change in compensation pork. For example, look at this month that has passed, we have had access
twice to pork, a whole pig for business he has done, but it is not always like that, sometimes I can spend a whole week with rice and beans, and some food, and not have access to any of these things.
Sometimes I can go a whole week with rice and beans, and some food, and not have access to any of these things
We eat vegetables, very sparingly. Until now there is no organoponic or anything that can supply any of this. Eggs, either, not here, because of the winery, as it is a rural area, they don't bring eggs to sell; and if you find any eggs it would be for the black bag, but that is very scarce, because we live in a very remote place in the city, so it is limited. Dairy, it depends, it could be on one occasion or another, in the past the State supplied my girls until they were 7 years old, but well, one is now 8 and the other is 11, so she hasn't had this access for years.
We supply ourselves more from the crops in my patio, there what I have the most are fruit trees, so as it is seasonal, I would have some of these foods at the time when these trees bear fruit; for example, avocado, guava, banana, papaya, bitter orange. The garden is not working yet, we are working based on that, but until it is finished, because I have nothing in the garden.
What are, in your opinion, aggravating factors that you face daily when it comes to ensuring cooking? I'm thinking about the affectations for basic service of water, gas and electricity.
For cooking food, I only have an electric stove, I have nothing else to do with electricity. I have a very old stove with bright light, kerosene and firewood, many of my foods are prepared with firewood.
The water is not a problem, since I am the one who supplies myself, I have a turbine, and then I put the water in when I want, I have never had problems with the water.
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