La Gomera’s craftwork is a source of the island’s culture and wealth that has gone from being one of the basic elements of daily life, to an attraction for all those who visit us. There is a great variety of craftwork, but perhaps the most representative crafts are woodwork, pottery and basketry.
If there is something that characterises La Gomera’s craftwork, it is the use of the island’s natural materials to make them, and this is the case of basketry, in which they use cane and wicker. They use this raw material to make unique pieces of different sizes such as vases, fruit bowls or baskets, all highly resistant. Other materials are also used in the art of basketry, such as palm leaves or strings of banana tree stems. With the first of them, they make from baskets to bags; and with banana tree strings, other smaller objects such as jewellery boxes, baskets, bread baskets and other characteristic souvenirs of the island such as the traditional lucky witches.
In addition to basketry, La Gomera craftwork is represented in many other ways. Precisely, pottery is one of the most outstanding. The working process of La Gomera’s potters is still done in the traditional way, by hand and without a potter's wheel. The production of a piece can take up to a month. The first step is to select the clay to mix with the sand, mould the figure and let it dry. Once dry, the imperfections are removed with a stone and water, and left to dry again before being baked in a traditional wood-fired oven for about five hours.
The clay used by the craftsmen and women of Gomera is extracted from the ravines of the island and mixed with sand and red ochre, which is what gives the reddish tone that characterises every piece. The place that concentrates the largest number of workshops is El Cercado, where visitors can discover in depth this traditional work of our magical island.