Wood and Madreña Museum

From there, and with the necessary knowledge, we left for the village of Veneros, Ethnographic Ensemble, with more than one Asturian identity sign, among which the Museum of Wood. It was promoted by a neighborhood association and currently has a well-stocked collection of the most basic woods of the park and the whole of the Principality. Like the one in ash tree, very abundant, or the oak, mythological tree already venerated by the ancient druids; Brown o the beech, the latter with a large extension throughout Asturias.

Visiting the Wood Museum offers more than one reward, such as learning to discern, from then on, which tree species we encounter along the way. We also learn more specific details, like the fact that a beech tree can reach 40 meters in height and live for 300 years.

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Moreover We will discover the tools used in forestry workas well as the most commonly used tools in the area for carpentry and cabinetmaking, including the artisanal production of wooden clogs, of which Caso is a leading center in the Principality. In its heyday, it employed nearly a hundred artisans and generated a significant number of related jobs.

To speak of «madreñes» is to speak of a culture, like the rural one, which in Asturias lived for decades with unpaved roads, and flooded caleyas that required indigenous footwear to solve the issue of walking without getting too muddy. The madreñes occupy a prominent place in the aforementioned Veneros Wood Museum. There are them of all kinds and conditions, as well as from all over the world, mainly from Cantabrian Spain and continental Europe.

In the background they resemble Central European wooden clogs, but they gain height and adaptation to the environment, as they have a heel and two front cleats to improve insulation from moisture and mud. Basically there are two modelsThe narrowest and most closed ones for feet encased in "socks" (thick socks), or those made for feet that are previously put into a shoe.

The mothers were the footwear of generations and rural generations, and the mother-makers, its creators, only began to be scarce with the appearance of other types of rubber footwear, waterproof and cheaper. In any case, many are those who continue to wear these clogs out of habit, and there are also many who, due to romanticism or nostalgia, even collect them in the most unexpected places of Asturias and the Peninsula.

Workshop of the Mother of Banners

And a wooden clog is not just any old thing. I knew that well. Luis Testón Lozano, who in his Workshop of the Mother of the village of Pendones (a center complementary to the Wood Museum) developed this noble work with great mastery.

Luis told us that the first recorded generation of clog makers dates back to 1770-1780, although he, like many other experts on rural history, maintains that this craft goes back many more decades, given its extreme functionality for rural communities. The municipality of Caso is a prime example of what has now become a select crafts that is in danger of extinction.

Teston He would take the "hachu" and carefully shape the log to give form to the wooden clog.It starts with a thin beech trunk, more precisely from the lower part of the tree because it is harder. At the end of the process, the pair is symmetrical and can be fitted to an exact shoe size: 36, 37, 38, 42. Luis said that In that job, "you have to be more careful than a heart surgeon."And he was right, because seeing how the splinters are falling capriciously, it's hard to believe that there hasn't been a miscalculation that ruined the work.

The final stages of production are, if possible, even more meticulous. From the hachu is passed to the adze, which allows greater control in fine workNext, a drill is used to make the hole for the foot. The outside of the clog is then polished with tools such as a rasp, a scraper, a brush, and a steady hand. Finally, the wooden clog is finished. It can be varnished or smoked with broom smokeThey are skillfully cut into grooves that eventually form a design, mainly floral, and then rubbed with a piece of bacon. Ready to be worn with confidence.

Formerly Case supplied the Asturian market with some 50.000 pairs of mothers per year. Currently, this craft is almost a cult, and footwear itself, more than a market product, is now a relic of pure Asturian wood, very pleasant to the touch. If you have the chance, do not miss this magnificent opportunity to get to know this trade in situ, or what is the same: an interrelated culture and nature that have managed to remain faithful to themselves by supporting one another.