Book with 136 color pages
Author: Luís Costa and Marta Carvalhal
Catalog number: Edições Nodar, nodar.029
ISBN: 978-989-99856-6-7

The black clay of Ribolhos is a tradition that for centuries has shaped not only the clay, but the very cultural identity of Castro Daire and the deep relationship between the local communities and the surrounding landscape.

Following the organization of the Encontros do Barro Negro de Castro Daire (Castro Daire Black Clay Meetings) and the inauguration of the “Black Clay Workshop de Ribolhos” (Ribolhos Black Clay Workshop) museum, both of which took place in September 2023, another important step has now been taken in the dissemination of this artisanal form, with the launch of the book “Ribolhos: Terra do Barro Negro” (Ribolhos: Land of Black Clay), which features texts by various specialists and enthusiasts of black clay, as well as the voices of the community itself, especially some of the people who had the most contact with the master potters of Ribolhos.

This 136-page publication includes dozens of historical photographs, texts by Alberto Correia, Alexandra Ribeiro Simões, Celeste Almeida, Conceição Cordeiro and Luís Gomes da Costa, transcripts of interviews with the potter Jorge Ferreira and with Fernanda Almeida, Justino Silva, Helena Guerra, Deolinda Rocha, Ernestina Nascimento, Gumercindo Rodrigues, Dorinda Duarte and Maria das Dores Teixeira.

The publication is coordinated by Binaural Nodar and the Municipality of Castro Daire, with the support of the Mamouros, Alva and Ribolhos civil parishes union, the Castro Daire School Group, the Saber Fazer National Program and the National Arts Plan.