Among the various samples of traditional crafts that we will find in the shops, the wooden salt shakers, beçulles, ceramics, basketry and agri-food crafts stand out.
The salt shakers , which have been made since time immemorial in the same houses, are usually made of pine wood and are decorated on the outside with sgraffito with traditional motifs. They were used both for domestic use and by shepherds, and were used to have salt near the fire, protected from moisture, without burning or getting dirty.
The beçulles were used, above all, by the shepherds. It is a container made of birch bark, which was used to collect water from ponds, fountains and rivers, it was even used to heat liquids in the fire.
There had been two important potters : one in Gerri de la Sal and the other in Rialp. The first closed the oven definitively after the civil war, and the second did the same around 1962. Currently, at the Ecomuseo de los Valles de Àneu you can buy reproductions of the most traditional pieces: pitxelles, plates, tureens, trays, drainers, cheese trays…
Basketry was also an activity that, little or much, was carried out within the same houses when everyone was self-sufficient in what was necessary to live. Therefore, the baskets were made with what they had on hand at all times: vímet, tintolaina, hazelnuts... Today basketry is basically made from hazelnuts: bread baskets, baskets to go to the garden or to pick mushrooms...
Finally, we will find numerous samples of agri-food crafts related to dairy products (cheeses, yoghurts), meat processing (sausages, pâtés, pa de fetge), medicinal and aromatic plants, fruits (jams, liqueurs), etc.
Source: Tourism of Pallars Sobirà
