“Dirty clothes should be washed at home. It’s a good day to do the washing. One day you’re young, the next you take advantage of the weekend to do the washing.” We have all undoubtedly heard one of these phrases before. Doing the washing can seem like a real chore but what would become of hospitals and care homes for the elderly without such services?
“We donated gowns and sheets to the Plaza maternity home because we understand that the amount of logistic items in these sites needs to be directly proportional to the increase in births in recent years. We also offered the same services in an orphanage in Playa and we plan to offer discounts to older persons in order to improve their quality of life. It gives us peace of mind to know that we can make a contribution, at least with these small initiatives,” Dalieny Ortega Cubela explains.
In 2017, Cuba had very few ventures in the self-employed sector dedicated to this service. This was one of the main motivations for the creation of Cubela’s Laundry, which started out in November of the same year in a rented state-owned space, as a continuation of the Lavandería Chantres business.
Dalieny Ortega Cubela, founder, coordinator and now president of the Cubela’s S.U.R.L MSME, explains that it wasn’t until 2020 and after overcoming several obstacles, that Cubela’s became a Local Development Project.
At that time, its clients were demanding more services than were initially conceived, which is why today the business has expanded to offer a wide range of services from comprehensive professional cleaning and laundry, to linen rentals.
Located in the Havana municipality of Plaza de la Revolución, on Calzada Street between Paseo Avenue and 2nd Street, this venture is more than an ordinary launderette, offering environmentally friendly services.
In order to reduce the use of water and electricity, the enterprise is in the process of contracting solar panels and managing a project to reuse water to clean streets and parks. The team has also linked up with the Academy of Sciences to produce a 100% Cuban product that can be used to clean and also benefit the environment.
Cubela’s also has a contract with the Escuela Taller (Workshop School – the only place where this service is offered) to promote learning and the putting into practice of these activities for young people interested in the field.
“The pandemic offered a space to attempt to achieve goals that at one point were put on hold, in order to expand our corporate purpose. You always have to seek out the good from the bad. We had to reinvent ourselves and take advantage of our potential and it was only then that we realized just how much we were capable of doing,” Dalieny adds.
While lockdown postponed some projects, like that concerning old peoples’ homes, it also resulted in the consolidation of what had been achieved.
“We still have a long way to go. Hopefully we can generate a culture of cleaning, for people to understand that it is an activity that someone else can do for you, in order to save you time so you can spend more of it with your family, for example.”
Cubela’s is now focused on perfecting its contribution to society and continuing to grow as an enterprise.
