Handicrafts

Many crafts are available in Costa Rica, ranging from from the balsa birds to jungle-seed jewellery. Most of these are similar to crafts available in other tropical Latin American countries, but a few of them have a special Costa Rican niche.

A few decades ago, the carretas(gaily painted wooden carts drawn by oxen) were the common form of transportation in the countryside. Although carretas are rarely seen in use today (you'll occasionally see one in the most rural areas or during a fiesta), they have become something of a traditional craft form, both a symbol of agricultural Costa Rica and a souvenir peculiar to Costa Rica. They come in all sizes, from table-top models to nearly life-size replicas that double as liquor cabinets. They all fold down for transport. Sarchí is the main centre for carreta construction.

Wooden bowls sound like a humble art form, yet they have been elevated to international art status by Barry Biesanz, working in Escazú, San José. Biesanz's handcrafted wooden bowls are light and luminous, almost defying the definition of wooden. His best pieces sell for up to US$200, and some of his bowls have been presented to US presidents. Biesanz also makes boxes with exposed joinery and other wooden objects - he signs each of his pieces. Numerous other woodcarvers have tried imitate his work; some look quite similar at first glance but close examination will reveal inferior technique and lack of his signature

The village of Guaitil on the Península de Nicoya is famed for its pottery. The attractive pots are made from local clays and use natural colours in the pre-Columbian Chorotega Indian style. They come in a variety of shapes and sizes - many of the huge pots seen decorating houses and hotels in Guanacaste come from here. Other distinctive, boldly painted ceramics are made by Cecilia Facio Pecas Figuers, the sister-in-law of President Figueres (1994-1998). Her work is often identifiable by the painted initials PF

Coffee and bananas have long been associated with Costa Rica, and now artisans have developed various crafts based on these crops. The most interesting is banana paper (and, to a lesser extent, coffee paper), which is made into stationary, greeting cards, and notebooks. The gnarly roots and trunks of coffee trees yield mysteriously twisted sculptures and keepsakes.

Pictures by Angela and Jörn Malek. The team of FlamingoLink, S.A. wishes you the best of times in our little paradise called Costa Rica.

Pottery

The Northwestern province of Guanacaste is home to many of the hidden treasures of Costa Rica. Its wildlife, rainforests, and beaches are pristine and the local artists are gifted and proud.

In the town of Guatil on the Nicoya Peninsula the resident artisans fashion their pottery in the tradition of the Chorotega Indians, once an indigenous population that was later absorbed into the Costa Rican culture. The tradition of making hand-thrown pottery has been handed down from generation to generation for over 800 years.

The craft of the Chorotega pottery makers support their entire village and all family members learn the craft.
Collecting the sand for the clays to make the pottery requires a rigorous journey by bus and foot to three different mountains, the finest sand being found at the opening of the iguana nests there. Three different colors of sand are used for the clays - tan, red ochre, and black. Black sand is the most difficult to obtain, so it is not always available. The sand is then mixed in large mortars with pestles to turn it into clay.

All of the pots are thrown completely by hand - no foot pedal or electricity used, only the skill of the potter's hands. Once the pot is formed, contrasting clays of either ochre or black are used to wash the outside of the unfired pots. Then intricate designs, said to have been power and fertility symbols of the Chorotega Indians, are carved into the surface of each piece. The pots are then fired in a wood burning, igloo-shaped, earthen kiln that can be seen in each artisan's yard.

Chorotega Pottery in San Vicente

The San Vicente neighborhood in Nicoya, Guanacaste, has all of the right elements to make the Chorotega indigenous group’s legendary traditional pottery with techniques that date from the pre-Colombian period.

With a one-of-a-kind clay deposit and fine iguana sand, as well as tradition and Guanacaste’s tourism boom, the entire town has banded together to produce San Vicente Pottery. Today this artistic collaboration offers us one of the best traditional ceramics in the country.

San Vicente Ceramics are made entirely by hand and with gifts from Mother Earth. San Vicente mud, iguana stomp the mixture to produce the raw materials, reproduce a tradition passed form generation to generation, since the middle of the Polychrome period (800-1350 A.D).

The colors of San Vicente’s Pottery also come from traditional sources: white, which is the base, and red and black, also called curiol. White and red are obtained from a hill located some three hours from the community, where the white is generous in abundance and the red fickle because, according to those who look for it, if you make too much noise during the search, the red hides and is difficult to find. However, if silence accompanies the searchers, the red clay flows easily. The color black is a gift from the beaches, as their borders contain a component similar to magnesium, from which the color is obtained.

All pieces are handmade with rustic and natural implements. For example, corncobs are used to polish surfaces as the piece is molded, and a store called zukia, which comes from indigenous burial grounds, is used to polish and shine the piece. However, this stone is very difficult to get due to the government’s prohibition on removing archeological pieces.

The neighborhood of San Vicente is a collection of small workshops dedicated to producing this pottery and to the preservation of their traditions. Aditionally, there are many new initiatives in the area, including the Chorotega Art Ecomuseum, which shows and sells ceramic pieces, basins and wicker trays.

The museum also helps protect San Vicente’s archeological burial sites. Finally whatever type of pottery you choose to acquire, be it a ocarina, earthen vat, pot, fruit bowl or something else, you can be assured that you’re taking with you a natural souvenir with a long Costa Rican indigenous history that allows an entire town to work.