A small rock in the Atlantic

Tuesday, 16 March 2010

The Banana Museum, Tazacorte

When I first heard there was a banana museum in Tazacorte, I laughed. But since about 40% of La Palma's population works works in the banana industry (growing, packing shipping etc.) it makes sense. Besides, bananas are the 4th most important crop in the world, (after rice, wheat and maize), and this is the only museum about European bananas in the world.

The museum contains lots of information panels in English and Spanish, all about thing like the origins and history of bananas, how they're grown, their health benefits, and the geology and history of Tazacorte. There's also a good selection of tools used for growing bananas.

Open Monday- Friday, 11 am - 1:30 pm
(Groups of visitors 10 am - 14:30 pm, but only by prior arrangement - Tel 922 480151)

To find the museum, first find the church then head downhill. The lane meanders through some lovely old houses, but if you follow your nose whenever there isn't a sign, you'll find it - the building's yellowy-green. And you can't beat the entrance price - it's free.

Beside the banana museum stands a mojo museum, almost ready to open. (Mojo is sort-of Canarian ketchup.) I gather the hold up is mostly paperwork, because they want to make mojo on the premises. That would make it far more interesting, of course, but the paperwork for anything to do with food is far more complicated.

The soon-to-be Mojo Museum next door

Labels: bananas, La Palma, La Plama, museum, Tazacorte

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Tuesday, 28 July 2009

Going Bananas

When I first came to La Palma in 1990, around 40% of the population depended on the banana trade: growing bananas, packing them, or driving them. But even with the EU subsidy, it's hard to make a living from bananas. If you're unlucky with the weather, you can work hard all year and still make a loss. So the economy is diversifying, and a good thing too. But bananas are still very important.

Bananas need a lot of water. Since La Palma is the wettest of the Canary Islands,it has the most irrigation water available, and the most banana plantations, particularly around Los Llanos.

Banana trees aren't trees. That is, they don't have a rigid trunk with annual rings. The "trunk" consists of concentric leaves, like a leek. They don't live all that long either. The plant grow one flower stalk and several side shoots. The farmer cuts off all but one of the side shoots, so that the one that's left grows better.

Another surprise: what I'd always called a bunch - you know, somewhere from 3 to 15 bananas - is technically a "hand". A bunch is a stalk full of hands. The variety of abananas grown here is a "giant dwarf" (yes, really!) so a bunch is maybe three feet long. And as you can see, the bananas grow upside down, curling up and away from the stalk.

Labels: bananas, La Palma