Ice-cream production in Salcedo, Ecuador, has a rich history dating back to the mid-20th century when Franciscan nuns first created creamy popsicles from leftover fruit shakes. This innovative idea quickly turned into a thriving industry that put Salcedo on the map for its delicious ice-cream flavors.
However, a recent wave of power outages, lasting up to 14 hours a day, has cast a shadow over the future of Salcedo's ice-cream industry. The outages, caused by a prolonged dry spell affecting hydroelectric plants in Ecuador, have severely impacted local ice-cream producers.
