Cuban Mechanic Turns Charcoal Into Road Fuel

A mechanic in a small Cuban town has shown how people can make the most of scarce resources. He took an old Polish car and turned it into a vehicle that runs on charcoal instead of gasoline. The idea came from the fact that oil shipments to Cuba stopped last year, making fuel hard to find and expensive. The car is a 1980 Fiat Polski with only two cylinders. The mechanic replaced the usual fuel tank with a propane container that holds charcoal. He sealed it shut using a transformer lid and added a homemade filter made from an old milk jug filled with clothes. Testing the car, it covered 85 kilometres and reached a top speed of about 70 kilometres per hour. Neighbors watched in surprise as the vehicle rolled down uneven streets, its engine humming differently than a typical gasoline car.People in the town are fascinated. Some take pictures, while others ask if the mechanic can build one for them. The local community thinks this is a clever solution to keep moving when gasoline is scarce and expensive on the black market. The mechanic plans to modify a tractor next, hoping to help farmers transport crops more easily. He credits his late uncle and open‑source technology from an Argentine inventor for inspiring the project. Other Cubans have seen this as a symbol of everyday ingenuity. One local owner of an old Pontiac described Cuba as “a salad made of everything, ” highlighting how mixed parts from different machines are combined to survive.