Modular housing program launched in Havana

Photos via Estudios Revolución

By René Tamayo León, translated from the Spanish

On Saturday May 2, Alina and Nerelys, two young workers who are single mothers and heads of their households, received the first two houses completed in Havana through the modular housing program using repurposed shipping containers. This initiative, being implemented across the country, shows the potential of this alternative to quickly address the growing housing needs of the Cuban people.

Alina Hinojosa Cardona, mother of two teenagers, had been living with them in a small, overcrowded room in poor condition. Despite these challenges, she has always cared for, educated, and guided her children with dedication, all while excelling at her job and leading the UJC base committee at her workplace—an organization she’s been part of since she was 14 years old.

Nerelys Madan Catalá, a secretary by profession who served two terms as a delegate for her constituency beginning at age 22, spent over 13 years living in a shelter alongside numerous families. She now enjoys a comfortable home, ensuring a better quality of life for her child and elderly mother.

The two young women expressed their gratitude with few words but many tears, moved by the delivery of their new homes in Nuevo Vedado. The inauguration was attended by the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and President of the Republic, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, who, after the simple ceremony, went to meet with local residents eager to greet him. He spoke with them about the recent victorious days led by the Cuban people, including the May Day March and the massive Mi Firma por la Patria movement.

An Exciting Program

Havana celebrated the inauguration of its first two modular homes made from maritime containers, with awards presented to the organizations involved. The event was attended by members of the Political Bureau, including Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz; Roberto Morales Ojeda, Secretary of Organization of the Central Committee; Army Corps General Lázaro Alberto Álvarez Casas, Minister of the Interior; and Major General José Amado Ricardo Guerra, Secretary of the Council of Ministers, along with other authorities.

The two neighboring houses have different designs and are built with distinct materials. Their construction incorporated leftover resources from tourism investments and technologies developed by the Revolutionary Armed Forces. The works were completed under the supervision of Army Corps General Álvaro López Miera, minister and member of the Political Bureau.

At a simple ceremony, the head of the Republic’s government, Manuel Marrero Cruz, reflected on how the program began, inspired by suggestions from Commander of the Revolution Ramiro Valdés Menéndez. The initiative led to repurposing the shipping containers used to import parts and components for photovoltaic solar panel parks from the People’s Republic of China.

The two modular homes delivered this Saturday show that these can be built with style and aesthetics, blending seamlessly into communities and the urban landscape, adding to their beauty. They also help encourage improvements in the neighborhood and serve as a source of support for women, many of whom are single and responsible for their families.

The Prime Minister reflected on the potential of the Modular Housing Program using decommissioned maritime containers, noting, “It’s not moving at the desired pace; it’s underway, but it could be done faster.”

Marrero Cruz said the homes, built in just a month, stand on a corner that, as Cubans say, “was almost lost,” but has now been brought back to life through an urbanization project. The initiative brought community benefits like extending gas service from the street to nearby houses, adding gardens, and planting fruit trees.

He said these two houses have challenged several myths about using shipping containers to build homes in Cuba, a construction method already common in other parts of the world.

One point is that, while modest and small, these homes can still be beautiful and comfortable; another is that they can be built in cities without violating established regulations; and finally, this is a practical and viable policy.

Marreró Cruz stated that the development and building of these two homes inspire and obligate us to proceed with this program.

CONTAINERS ARE HERE TO STAY

In a chat with the press, comrade Delilah Díaz Fernández, general director of Housing at MICONS, explained that the program to build modular homes from decommissioned shipping containers is an initiative the Cuban State, the Ministry of Construction, and the General Directorate of Housing have been designing, developing, and implementing. It takes advantage of the potential of a material that is usually an environmental problem, while also addressing the country’s housing deficit, which is around 806,000 homes.

"The last use maritime containers," the expert recalled, "are used all over the world to turn them into homes. This is not our own initiative; there is a considerable experience at the international level, and based on that experience and some specific developments that we had in different places, we decided to implement the program."

Díaz Fernández mentioned that there are already over two thousand containers in the country set for this purpose, with around 700 currently being converted into various workshops. He explained that MICONS has been the main builder in this strategy, though other organizations, including non-state management entities, have also participated.

According to the director, this development features over a hundred solutions created by our Project Front, ranging from building construction to ensuring thermal comfort, all tailored to the country’s temperatures during peak sunshine and the hottest months.

The program, as emphasized by the General Director of Housing of MICONS, has great potential and is here to stay. After utilizing all the currently available containers, which exceed eight thousand, the plan is to continue with additional containers that arrive at Cuban ports in their final usable condition.

Among the main beneficiaries of this program, Díaz Fernández added, will be people who have lost their homes due to extreme weather events; boys and girls who have aged out of homes for children, adolescents, and young people without parental care; those who have lost their homes due to landslides; and individuals in vulnerable situations.

The expert noted that the program assumes the architectural design of homes follows the structure of the family unit, meaning the number of rooms depends on the family’s composition.

For the strategy's implementation, he explained that operation and maintenance manuals have been created. Although these structures are durable, similar to traditional houses, they require periodic repainting and monitoring for humidity issues that may occur due to temperature fluctuations, among other concerns.

This work was translated and shared via a License CC-BY-NC