CubaPLUS Magazine

The community of La Picadora is a magical place where an ecotourism project unlike any other has taken root. It was initiated by El Titi and Esther, but today it thrives thanks to the collaboration of all the neighbors—and every visitor leaves captivated by the land and its people. 

The father of this initiative is Eusebio Chirino, historian and archaeologist from Yaguajay, Sancti Spíritus. He was the first to use the space as the venue for a biennial event on Archaeology and Paleontology. 

On February 14, 1998, the very first gathering was held in La Picadora. About 60 participants attended, lodging in the homes of local farmers. Sessions took place in the community’s medical office and social club. Quickly, many locals volunteered to help–becoming assistants, cooks, and even musicians from the community itself, who brightened the activities with music. 

By 2010, a centennial was commemorated: 100 years since the discovery of a complete skeleton of Megalocnus rodens (a now-extinct Cuban giant sloth), found by Dr. Carlos de la Torre in a nearby paleontological site—today transformed into a must-visit tourist trail. A plaque was placed at the excavation site, and researchers from the Cuban National Museum of Natural History returned to excavate, uncovering new remains of Cuban “edentates.”

With each of these milestones, the community’s reputation grew. One day, a group of photographers visited—including Julio Larramendi. That encounter sparked the idea of featuring Esther and El Titi in the book Campesinos dentro del alma de Cuba (Farmers Within Cuba’s Soul), later published. 

During his scientific travels, Chirino met the Vice-Rector of the University of Villa Clara and invited him to one of the events. This academic also directed a Local Agricultural Innovation Project (PIAL) and recognized La Picadora’s potential to establish a grain school—an initiative that soon became another successful pathway for the community.

Through PIAL, an agrotourism event was organized in Viñales, with nine women selected to attend. Among them was Esther (El Titi’s wife). She presented her modest experiences with Cuban-style ecotourism. Later, the group traveled to Spain for further training. 

From the course in Murcia, Esther returned with fresh ideas. A few months later, evaluators visited to assess the results. Despite having only a rustic cabin with limited amenities, their verdict was clear: La Picadora was the best prepared site to receive tourists, thanks to its natural charm and warm hospitality. 

Specialists from Spain later came themselves to see the outcomes of the women’s work. They stayed in La Picadora and echoed the same conclusion—it was the ideal place to welcome visitors. 

Two months later, the National Institute of Agricultural Sciences  (INCA) contacted the community: a French travel agency wanted to send tourists to Cuba for an ecotourism experience, beginning with Esther’s project, inspired by her international training. 

The first group stayed three days in the rustic cabins. As always, the community rallied together—roasting a pig, sharing local music, and offering immersive activities: grinding their own breakfast coffee, helping make handmade bricks with a rustic press (each leaving their mark in the clay), and much more. 

The quality of the experience, both human and service, was so outstanding that the French confirmed that in two weeks, the first official group of tourists would arrive. Those visitors enjoyed the turquoise waters of Rancho Querete, the caves of Cayo Caguanes, and the legend of the Pelú de Mayajigua at a ranch of the same name, alongside the heartfelt welcome that marked the true beginning of La Picadora’s ecotourism journey. 

Hospitality from El Titi, Esther, and the neighbors remains natural and meticulous. They share their traditions, their daily customs, and guide visitors to sites rich in biodiversity and history. 

Importantly, tourism has never overshadowed the community’s scientific and educational mission. Alongside lodging and ecotourism activities, La Picadora supports the project “Awakening Dreams”, with an ecological classroom and a library, and continues to host the biennial Archaeology and Paleontology event led by Chirino.

Among the historic trails shown to visitors is one leading to the community of Las Llanadas, dating back to 1900, where the artisanal process of lime production—using local limestone—remains a living tradition. 

The process begins with building a kiln from refractory bricks and extracting limestone from the mountains. Each batch requires five cartloads of stone (about 10 m³). About 70% of the rocks are broken into small pieces.

The kiln is built with the larger stones, in a vault-shape, leaving space inside for wood. The fuel is Ipil ipil (Leucaena leucocephala), an invasive species controlled through this practice. Roughly 10 m³ of wood is required. 

The burn lasts about 72 hours—a grueling task, as the kiln must be fed hourly, exposing workers to constant heat. Afterward, the kiln is left to cool for four hours, ashes and charcoal fragments are removed, and twelve hours later it is dismantled. 

In the early hours of the following morning, the lime is bagged in 100-pound sacks, requiring eight to ten men for the exhausting task. Each firing produces between 300 and 400 sacks. 

In Cuba, lime is used to paint walls, sanitize cattle pens and pigsties, as a pesticide in agriculture, to stabilize soil pH, as a binder in construction, and in the sugar industry.

 
Yet, the greatest treasure of La Picadora is its people. Cuban farmers are known for their noble spirit, sharing everything they have with visitors. In La Picadora, that hospitality is especially heartfelt—every visitor becomes part of the family.