SALCEDO, Ecuador — (AP) — Ice-cream production in Salcedo, a quaint town in Ecuador’s central highlands, began in the mid-20th century, born from the ingenuity of Franciscan nuns.
Locals say the sisters would drink fruit shakes made with milk from the region’s dairy farms until one of them began collecting the leftovers, turning them into creamy popsicles that became an overnight sensation.
The nuns sold the popsicles in town to gather funds for the poor. But the people of Salcedo saw a business opportunity and began experimenting with new flavors and techniques, establishing a thriving popsicle industry that has made their small town famous among ice-cream lovers.
However, a recent wave of power outages, triggered by a prolonged dry spell, is threatening the future of Salcedo’s ice-cream industry and melting away its dreams of a more prosperous future.
The daily power outages that began earlier this year and intensified in September can last up to 14 hours. …