Ecomuseum of la Alcogida: Fuerteventura’s rare ethnographic treasures

The Ecomuseum of La Alcogida is located in the town of Tefia which belongs to the municipality of Puerto del Rosario .

Here are seven houses of different architectural types, from buildings typical of the wealthiest families to modest buildings that recall the humble past of the Majorero peasants.

Their houses, built of lime and water and with roofs made of a mixture of water, earth and straw, were inhabited until the 1970s and renovated in 1990.

The Ecomuseum of La Alcogida reveals the lifestyle of the Majoreri farmers, with their stone houses in the typical local style and their daily activities.

Fuerteventura’s climate, with its arid soil and low rainfall, forced the Majoreros (the inhabitants of Fuerteventura) to devise a complex water collection system.

This is where the name “Alcogida” comes from, meaning a channel to collect rainwater, a very precious resource in such an arid environment.

As a result, elements such as cisterns, drains, pipes and wells were used, which are integrated into the landscape of the “Alcogida”.

Other features of the Ecomuseum of la Alcogida 

At the Ecomuseum of la Alcogida you can see videos of how the artisans worked, their tools and typical materials: palm, clay, stone and canvas.

From the village you can see the Tefia Mill , which was once used to grind the traditional Canarian gofio and is today proudly shown to visitors.

Nearby is the Fuerteventura Astronomical Observatory, a public space accessible for observing the night sky and the stars.

A few meters from La Alcogida is a place of detention for opponents of the Franco regime, who considered homosexuality undesirable.

The museum is a spectacular journey to discover the ethnographic values of Majorera culture, carefully preserved by the inhabitants.

Houses of the Ecomuseum of La Alcogida

Each house in the Ecomuseo de la Alcogida still retains the name of its former owner, with the typical characteristics of the era.

The House of Señor Jacinto , divided into two parts, is built of limestone and the cavities sealed with rubble and excrement.

Note the cut stone worked to adorn the frames of the doors and small windows, the crab-shaped roof with stone slabs that act as a gutter.

Casa de Señora Herminia e Señor Donato , is a small house with the architecture of poor families.

The stone and mud walls are fitted with dressed stone at the corners and window frames, covered with a mixture of lime and sand and a stone roof.

The house is enclosed by a small wall, creating a courtyard where aromatic herbs, vegetables and flowers are grown.

Casa de Señor Facundo consists of two rectangular blocks, the first used as a dwelling and the second as a stable and barn.

The corners and supporting arches are made of red volcanic stone, the roofs are flat and the beams are embedded in the parquet.

To the north of the house there is a room that was used both as a barn and for the long-term storage of products such as wheat.

Other houses of the Ecomuseum 

Casa de Señor Teodosio Ramos is more complete both functionally and architecturally.

It is a large building composed of two parts connected by a patio and the rooms on the ground floor and attic were used as warehouses.

The house has tanks to collect rainwater that rises from the roof and a lime kiln.

All the decorations are in stone and terracotta and the doors and windows are made of volcanic limestone.

Casa de los Herrera has a more complex structure, it is made up of 2 houses, one L-shaped and the other U-shaped.

The walls of the house are made of stone and mud and the cladding is made of lime and sand.

In some rooms there are wooden planks and cavities filled with cut stones and an uneven floor.

Casa de los Cabrera is a craftsman’s house consisting of a ground floor and an attic built with stone and mud walls.

All the walls, except those in the kitchen, are covered with mixed mortar and sand, and the attic is accessed via an external staircase.

Casa de los Molina is the last of seven houses and villas where you can explore the daily life of ancient farmers on the island of Fuerteventura.

How to get there?

Reaching the Ecomuseum of la Alcogida from Puerto del Rosario is very convenient and easy and it’s about 20 km from the capital of Fuerteventura.

From Puerto del Rosario, continue on the FV20 and FV30 towards Antigua.

And then take the FV207 towards Tefia.