Container Homes Emerge as Cuba's Innovative Housing Solution

The Construction and Assembly Company in Granma province has unveiled the first homes crafted from repurposed shipping containers. This makeshift solution arises in response to the severe scarcity of building materials and the growing housing demand, aiming to extend this approach to various Cuban communities. By converting discarded containers into residential units, the company highlights a technique known globally for its versatility. However, in Cuba, it is driven by a chronic deficiency in construction resources.

In Granma, work is underway on five units out of a planned ten. Once completed, these homes will feature a living room, kitchen-dining area, bathroom, two bedrooms, and independent access points, as reported on the company's Facebook page. Moreover, in the Buena Vista community, located in San Antonio del Sur, Guantánamo, plans are in place to set up 23 container homes for families displaced by Hurricane Oscar, which hit the region in October 2024. This initiative is part of a broader program to establish 60 similar homes using recycled materials from packaging at a solar park under construction in the eastern province.

In a country where temperatures average around 86°F and often exceed 95°F, a metal container without adequate insulation transforms into an uninhabitable oven. Without efficient ventilation or air conditioning, the interior can reach extreme temperatures, posing health risks such as heatstroke, especially for children and the elderly. While thermal coatings and detached roofs might mitigate these issues, international experience shows that such structures only become livable with significant investment in insulation, which increases project costs.

In countries like Spain, container homes have gained popularity as a sustainable alternative, but they adhere to strict insulation standards, habitability permits, and structural guarantees. The Cuban government is pushing several projects involving container-based constructions as part of efforts to address the housing shortfall in Holguín province. A similar venture is underway in Las Tunas, presented as an “innovative solution” to the housing crisis. This initiative comes after decades of unmet official housing construction plans, leaving approximately 10,659 families in Las Tunas living in homes with dirt floors in the 21st century.

Granma reports that the initial type 3 homes will be installed in designated areas of the municipalities of Manatí, Puerto Padre, Jesús Menéndez, Majibacoa, and the provincial capital. Meanwhile, in an attempt to showcase "creativity" amid material shortages, Villa Clara province is building two experimental homes—one in Santa Clara and another in Remedios—entirely without cement and steel.

In Pinar del Río, an ancient technique is being revived: constructing homes with earth, lime, and clay, which experts claim can withstand hurricanes. With assistance from the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), Mexican specialists have trained local builders and students in crafting vaulted roofs using locally sourced materials.

The sharp decline in housing construction in Cuba starkly reflects the country’s economic and social collapse. In 2024, fewer homes were built than during the harshest years of the Special Period, underscoring the State's sustained inability to meet one of the population's most fundamental needs. Another revealing statistic is the housing deficit in Cuba, which exceeds 800,000 homes, yet the regime manages to build only a minuscule fraction. The shortage of materials, the collapse of the local industry, and poor state management exacerbate a structural crisis directly impacting the quality of life for hundreds of thousands of Cubans.