Centro de Interpretación - Las Loceras

Wheel free pottery is one of La Gomera's defining crafts, and El Cercado is the village where it has carried on most continuously. The loceras work the clay with their hands, building each piece up on a base and then smoothing it with river stones, using no tools beyond the traditional ones. The result is casseroles, roasting pans and vessels with an uneven surface and reddish colour, quite unlike thrown ceramics.

The centre sets that process out clearly: where the clay is dug, how it is prepared, how it is shaped, how it is decorated with red ochre and how it is fired. The pieces shown at intermediate stages make visible what a case of finished products never shows. The village also keeps working workshops, so the visit can be rounded off by walking through El Cercado. Inside the room, avoid flash photography and move your bag carefully between the display cases.