by Yosley Carrero

HAVANA, Sept. 3 (Xinhua) -- Rafael Fortun, a private entrepreneur from Havana's San Miguel district, has found in recycling a chance to increase his family's earnings during the COVID-19 pandemic.

He is the founder of RFR Colorin, a local development project that uses flexible polyvinyl chloride (PVC) materials to manufacture rain boots to meet the increasing demand in the country.

Fortun, who had previously worked in the fields of naval engineering and maintenance of trains, has now built a makeshift factory in the backyard of his own house.

The 58-year-old told Xinhua that the new legal framework for the development of the non-state sector across the country would help RFR Colorin expand.

"I want to create a small enterprise because this business has a huge potential to explore," he said. "The government is moving on the right track promoting economic openness."

The rain boots produced by the local development project have been sold to waste management enterprises, farmers and food companies, among other clients.

"In the future, we want to diversify our portfolio to sleepers, shoes, and diving fins," he added.

Fortun does not do this work alone, but enjoys the help of some 10 workers from the community.

Among them is Erislandy Issac, a 32-year-old employee who works in the areas of grinding and selection of materials which constitute fundamental elements of the PVC recycling process.

"We are working hard to improve the quality of our products," he told Xinhua. "Nothing is wasted but repurposed. Recycling is a philosophy of life here."

The number of self-employed persons in the Caribbean nation has increased from around 157,000 in 2010 to more than 600,000 nowadays.

Accounting for 13 percent of the nation's workforce, the private sector on the island is expected to grow after the Cuban government legalized small and medium-sized private businesses.

Juan Sotolongo, the coordinator of RFR Colorin, said that they will continue to adopt eco-friendly techniques in processing PVC.

"We have set as a paramount priority to protect the environment," he said. "If we got funding to improve the quality of the equipment, we could sell our rain boots to foreign companies based at Mariel Special Development Zone."

"Local development projects in Cuba are more necessary than ever. I have no doubt they could help the country substitute imports and the economy recover from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic," Jose Antonio Suarez, a senior official of the San Miguel district, told Xinhua.