Pinarica Coffee and La Ceiba Cubana charity

[Ryan]

I hope this is OK here, I don't mean it specifically as an ad for the coffee.

There was an event here last Saturday, organised by a local cigar group. Cuban cigars, rum and coffee.

An aspect of the event was to raise funds for Cuba, specifically for healthcare and education in rural Cuba.

Pinarica Coffee was one of the sponsors.

I was asked for some details at the event by a blogger about the coffee and the charity and he came up with a decent piece.

https://www.thecigarselections.com/episodes/bqeg9fzdzsropz70xvmv3ztx67jhve

We have already installed solar panel systems in two schools in Pinar del Río and in the process of acquiring medicines and medical equipment for the local health clinics. Every day there are new headaches regarding travel, payments and shipping, but we live in interesting times and nothing worth doing is easy. Whatever problems I'm having, it's nothing compared to what Cuban people are going through right now.

Thanks.

[Drguano]

Keep up the good work, Andy!

[El Presidente]

 

[zeedubbya]

I took an interest in this a few months back, and what an incredible body of work this is, Andy. I can imagine the “brain drain” you speak of (in the video) would be positively affected if there were more initiatives like this—with amazing people behind them like yourself. 

If only the hard-headed people who make the policy decisions would take a page out of your playbook and make education and enrichment a priority and meaningful financial gain a side effect, there would be a VERY good chance of real prosperity. I’m in awe of what you’ve done here—sincerely and without hyperbole.  

[Ryan]

On 6/6/2026 at 12:26 PM, zeedubbya said:

I took an interest in this a few months back, and what an incredible body of work this is Andy. I can imagine the “brain drain” you speak of (in the video) would be positively affected if there were more initiatives like this—with amazing people behind them like yourself. 

If only the hard headed people who make the policy decisions would take a page out of your playbook and make education and enrichment a priority and meaningful financial gain a side effect, there would be a VERY good chance of real prosperity. I’m in awe of what you’ve done here—sincerely and without hyperbole.  

Thank you so much zeedubbya for your support and the reviews! I am always inspired by how much the Cuban people I work with are able to achieve with so little. Something I've witnessed in Cuba more than anywhere else I've been, is how much people there care about their neighbours, their communities, and others in general.

I know, and work with, Cuban communists and capitalists but all of them have in common an empathy I don't see as much anywhere else. They are, in general, good people and they deserve an opportunity to be rewarded for their efforts. There is so much potential there to do things right. They are years ahead of anywhere else when it comes to regenerative farming practices for example, out of necessity. In the early discussions with farmers, it wasn't about planting more coffee plants to produce more harvest right away, it was about planting more native forest so there would be coffee grown under its shade in 20, 30 years time. From the first form of the contract, a sizable percentage of the coffee produced as part of this project has to remain in Cuba and sold at local prices so there would be coffee for the locals. That wasn't my idea, though I'm very happy with it. It came from the top down. Again, it was simple forward thinking. The potential of profit will bring investment but not to the cost of the people producing the product and their communities.

I am naive but not so naive that I don't know the entire thing could go away tomorrow, for all kinds of reasons, but it won't be from lack of effort on my behalf. It's one of the most stressful things I've ever done to try to make a living, but I've never been happier doing anything else.

I hope whatever change comes to Cuba will be good for everyone there.