LA ZAFRA – Tomato Museum
Accessible
Free Parking
Guided Tour
Museum
In the heart of Vecindario in the municipality of Santa Lucía de Tirajana, you find the Tomato Museum La Zafra. The museum tells the story of how important the tomato was for the Canarians in the last century. And still is.
The museum presents the history and impact the tomatoes plantations had on Gran Canaria and explains how the Canarias perfected water drilling to get sufficient water to their plantations. The Tomato Museum LA ZAFRA invites visitors to enjoy a mix of exhibitions and galleries displayed in both Spanish and English.
Tomato Farmer in Gran Canaria
First, you enter building one, where you get all the information on how the tomato came to Gran Canaria and the history behind the tomato fruit in general.
As you walk along the room, you go on an educational journey which is explaining how the Spaniards brought the tomato from America to Gran Canaria. Many illustrations show in detail how the growth process takes place, from planting the seed to harvesting the fruit. Over the centuries an amazing advancement in the areas of production , packaging and transportation took place.
It is very fascinating to see how everything was done by hand originally, from building the wooden boxes for the tomato transportation to wrapping each tomato individually in paper before placing them into the boxes.
Tomato Museum about Workers’ Life
How did the Tomato workers live? The history of all the work, who played an important part in this history, has a section where you learn about how the tomato workers were living, their houses and schools. This is a fantastic way to see, how life was in Gran Canaria back in those days.
Water Drilling in Gran Canaria
In building two, you go on a journey into the history of water drilling, wells, galleries and ponds. The visitor learns how water was brought to the surface and how the Canarians learned to reuse sweet water, which still is scarce on the island. Even today these techniques of irrigation are applied in parks and gardens all over the Canary Islands.
A mix of photos, illustrations and real machinery explains how these wells were made. Right in the middle of the room you will see a real well with a depth of 85 meters.
Prices & More
- Free parking right outside the door
- Global bus stop right outside
- General: € 2.50.
- Residents in the municipality: € 2.00.
- Pensioners, the disabled and children between 5 and 16 years old: 1.00 €.
- Groups (15 or more people): 1.50 €.
- Organized visits with schools in Santa Lucia: FREE admission
