Henequén en Matanzas de la Raffloer Erbsloh & Co.

Plantaciones de cáñamo y henequén en Matanzas de la Raffloer Erbsloh & Co. Si se pregunta qué se cultiva en Cuba con fines comerciales, la respuesta es invariablemente: “Azúcar”. Pero aparte del hecho de que muchos otros productos de Cuba contribuyen constantemente a abastecer el mercado mundial, hay uno sobre el que, comparativamente, se sabe poco.

En 1902, el Sr. Ernest Raffloer, miembro principal de la firma Raffloer, Erbsloh & Co., fabricantes de cuerdas y cordeles para atar, hizo el primer intento de plantar cáñamo en Cuba, con miras a cultivar su propia materia prima, que hasta hasta ese momento debía importarse desde Yucatán, única fuente de abastecimiento.

Sisal-Hemp Plantations at Matanzas of Raffloer Erbsloh & Co. Plantaciones de cáñamo y sisal (Henequén) en Matanzas de la Raffloer Erbsloh & Co.

If the question is asked, what is being grown in Cuba for commercial purposes the answer is invariably: “Sugar”. But aside from the fact that many other products of Cuba are constantly helping to supply the world’s market, there is one about which comparatively little may be known.

In 1902 Mr. Ernest Raffloer, senior member of the firm of Raffloer, Erbsloh & Co., manufacturers of rope and binder twine, made the first attempt to plant hemp in Cuba, with a view to grow their own raw-material, which up to that time had to be imported from Yucatan, the only source of supply.

The results were most gratifying, and now thousands of acres of stony soil, useless for any other purpose, are producing a most valuable crop. New plantations are being added every year, at Matanzas, ltabo, and at Nuevitas, Prov. Camagüey.

The big rope and twine factory of Raffloer, Erbsloh & Co., at Matanzas, was originally founded in Havana in 1891, on a complex of ground known as Tallapiedra; but the whole business was moved to Matanzas in 1912, after the success of the plantations was assured; and now this factory is growing all of its own raw material, and is located in the midst of the extensive plantations supplying same.

This industry is a boon to the city of Matanzas, as it furnishes employment to from 700 to 1,000 workers.

Bibliografía y notas

• “Sisal-Hemp Plantations at Matanzas, Cuba”. The Pan-American Magazine. Vol. 22, núm. 3, julio 1915, p. 147.
• Tren cargado de henequén cáñamo y la fábrica de Raffloer Erbsloh & Co. en Matanzas (Foto Thomas Forsyth Hunt – Universidad Davis de California).
• Personalidades y negocios de Matanzas.

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