Casa do Sal is the space where the salt nativity scene can be seen, which reproduces the religious scenes characteristic of Christmas using this ancient local traditional product, but also highlights other arts and crafts characteristic of the municipality said the vice-president of the Chamber of Castro Marim, Filomena Sintra.

“Above all, [we want] to affirm the good name of Castro Marim associated with what is most authentic, genuine and differentiating. We are in the Christmas season, we must praise the value of Christmas and the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ and what this means in our culture”, said the mayor.

In parallel to this objective, the municipality and the Castro Marim Parish Council promote the initiative to “value the salt of Castro Marim”, considered “white gold”, as well as its “most authentic crafts”, exemplified Filomena Sintra.

In this way, she explained, the initiative contributes to “promoting the growth of new artisans”, who “reinvent shapes and study new objects with the same raw material, learning from their elders”, as is the case of people trained in design who reinvented basket-weave lampshades.

“Salt marks the ancient history of Castro Marim, the different centuries, the different historical moments, and it is what today also differentiates us in international markets”, highlighted the mayor, remembering that the activity was “completely abandoned” and today traditional extraction is carried out and reaches markets around the world.

Throughout the exhibition period, which runs until February 6, the space where the salt nativity scene is located will also have “the artisans themselves working on the pieces so that people can understand how they transform”.

“We have a greater responsibility here, which is to value this work. A handmade line, which takes a day and a half [to be made], has to be duly remunerated. And our mission is to make people value this product”.