[1/5] Entrepreneur Gabriel Perez, 38, poses for a photo as he checks slices of banana put to dry in his farmland in the rural outskirts of Havana, Cuba, November 22, 2023.
REUTERS/Alexandre Meneghini Acquire Licensing RightsHAVANA, Nov 28 (Reuters) - On a small farm outside Havana, a Cuban family-run business produces gluten-free flour from banana, coconut and yucca, preferring locally-sourced ingredients to pricey imports as Cubans seek innovative solutions to a growing food crisis.
His business, Bacoretto, dries and mills yucca, rice, banana and coconut into organic flour preferred by gluten-intolerant consumers, who have only recently been able to find food products tailored to their dietary needs in Cuba.
Byproducts of their processes are used to make coconut oil, coconut-fiber rope, vinegar and fermented products and sweets, Perez told Reuters.
It produces 6 to 8 kilograms (13.2 to 17.6 pounds) of flour a week, Perez said, in small batches, in addition to byproducts, with a staff of eight people.
Persons:
Gabriel Perez, Alexandre Meneghini, Perez, Fidel Castro's, Alien Fernandez, Nelson Acosta, Bill Berkrot
Organizations:
REUTERS, Rights, Reuters, Thomson
Locations:
Havana, Cuba, Rights HAVANA, Caribbean