Among the various examples of traditional crafts found in the shops are wooden salt shakers, beçulles, pottery, basketry, and agricultural crafts.
Salt shakers , which have been made in the same homes since time immemorial, are usually made of pine wood and decorated on the outside with sgraffito of traditional motifs. They were used both for domestic use and by shepherds, and served to keep salt near the fire, protected from moisture, without burning or dirtying it.
Beçulles were used primarily by shepherds. These are birch bark containers used to collect water from ponds, springs, and rivers, and were even used to heat liquids over a fire.
There had been two important potters : one in Gerri de la Sal and the other in Rialp. The first closed the kiln permanently after the Civil War, and the second did the same around 1962. Today, at the Ecomuseum of the Valleys in Àneu, you can buy reproductions of the most traditional pieces: pitchers, plates, soup tureens, trays, colanders, cheese dishes, and more.
Basketry was also an activity that, to a greater or lesser extent, was carried out within the same homes when everyone was self-sufficient in their living needs. Therefore, baskets were made with whatever was on hand at any given time: vimet, tintolaina, hazelnuts... today, basketry is primarily made from hazelnuts: bread baskets, baskets for going to the garden or for mushroom picking...
Finally, we will find numerous examples of agri-food crafts related to dairy products (cheeses, yogurts), meat processing (sausages, pâtés, pa de fetge), medicinal and aromatic plants, fruits (jams, liqueurs), etc.
Source: Turisme del Pallars Sobirà