The Center for Craft of the Mill of Antigua (Centro de Artesanía El Molino) has permanent and temporary exhibitions of handicrafts “majorero” (indigenous crafts of Fuerteventura), as well as exhibitions of works by artists from the island including painters and sculptors.
The Mill Craft Centre Antigua is probably the best place to be able to know the traditions of the island of Fuerteventura; the visitor can find a large sample of Crafts “majorero”. Antigua is considered the capital of crafts, where embroidery, basketry, ceramics, wood carving, and so on, are activities that are part of the traditions of the inhabitants of the locality. En audiovisual projections presents documentary films showing the different manufacturing processes of all these objects.
The Centre is managed by the Regional Council of Fuerteventura (Cabildo); it also houses an archaeological and ethnographic gallery, a general information center on the island and a small craft shop.
The mill of Antigua and Crafts Centre is located in the heart of Fuerteventura at the northern entrance of the city of Antigua, on the FV-20 road from Puerto del Rosario.
The Center for Crafts is built around a century mansion and an old windmill - completely restored in 1997 - which has kept intact all its traditional mechanisms. This mill was once used to grind grain for the entire village of Antigua; he produced the “gofio” (flour of various cereals), the staple food of people in Canary.
Around the mill and crafts center of the building was created a cactus garden from around the world and native palms.
The island of Fuerteventura has developed a traditional economy based on cereals and which gave birth and consolidated concrete socio-cultural structures, a specific modification of the territory and a particular configuration of the rural landscape.
In the twentieth century, a new economic model based on tourism took root and has transformed the traditional structures of the island of Fuerteventura. However, many elements reflect the traditional lifestyle of the island, as the windmills that dot the territory, silent witnesses of a long phase of the island’s history.
Windmills were introduced to Fuerteventura between the late eighteenth century and early nineteenth century. They are mostly spread in the center and north of the island, because of climatic and socioeconomic factors. The constant presence of the trade winds which were their source of energy and the traditional grain economy of the island favored the establishment of numerous mills and “molinas” along the island territory. They were built in places open to the prevailing winds, becoming one of the most characteristic features of the rural landscape of the island.
The windmill has provided enormous benefits in grain milling, although it has not determined the abandonment of older grinding system such as hand mill, and “tahona” who continued to be used domestically and in periods of no wind.
The traditional windmill on the island called “masculine mill” is a masonry construction made of stone, wood and lime, circular and tapered shape. It is crowned with a wooden cone that rotates through a rudder directing the blades to the wind. The mill consists of two or three stories down, we keep the tools used by millers; to the central floor or room called “cuarto de en medio” the grain is stored; upstairs there are machines to grind. In the mills that were not center stage, the grain was stored with the tools. The base of the building was surrounded by a small dry stone wall.
The majority of the mills had four wings although there are some with six. These consisted of a wooden structure on which a tarpaulin was placed. The machines were almost entirely made of wood although there are pieces of iron, which forms a complex gear whose function is to increase the rotational force of the wings and forward it to the mobile stone to produce milling. The wings propelled by the wind were running gear which in turn moved a coil called “screw”. This was connected to the movable millstone by a metal pin fixed to a rectangular piece of iron called “lavija”, adhered to the inner face of the wheel. The shaft transmitting the movement to the upper wheel, rotating it on the lower wheel causing the grain milling. The entire mechanism can be stopped by a brake that was putting pressure on the sprocket.
The milling process was done by pouring the grain into the hopper; grain slipped in a little gutter that led him to the wheel. Flour or “gofio” fall into a container to the central stage, where it was collected in bags.
A craft fair (Feria Insular de Artesanía) held each year in May, the Center of Mill Craft Antigua.
The shop sells reproductions of original ceramics, embroidery, baskets and other objects made of palm or other vegetable fibers, and a variety of textiles made in the workshops of Fuerteventura: tablecloth, blankets, bags and so on.
In craft shops Fuerteventura (Tiendas de Artesanía), one can identify with the warranty seal in green border for original creations and brown border for traditional crafts. All labels are numbered and are the coordinates of the craftsman. The Chapter of Fuerteventura (Cabildo de Fuerteventura) has the responsibility to verify the authenticity of handicrafts.
Situation_small.jpg "The mill of Antigua in Fuerteventura. Click to enlarge the image in Adobe Stock (new tab).")
Visits
_small.jpg "The mill Antigua Fuerteventura. Euphorbia candelabrum. Click to enlarge the image in Adobe Stock (new tab).")
_small.jpg "The mill of Antigua in Fuerteventura. the cactus garden Crafts Center. Click to enlarge the image in Adobe Stock (new tab).")
_small.jpg "The mill of Antigua in Fuerteventura. Click to enlarge the image in Adobe Stock (new tab).")
.jpg "The mill of Antigua in Fuerteventura. Click to enlarge the image.")
.jpg "The mill of Antigua in Fuerteventura. Click to enlarge the image.")
.jpg "The mill of Antigua in Fuerteventura. Click to enlarge the image.")
_small.jpg "The mill of Antigua in Fuerteventura. Click to enlarge the image in Adobe Stock (new tab).")
_small.jpg "The mill of Antigua in Fuerteventura. Click to enlarge the image in Adobe Stock (new tab).")
Practical information
Other topics
