Last Friday, Yaiza Ayuntamiento presented its proposal to convert the Centro de interpretación del camello in Uga into an interactive museum showcasing the history, culture and local economy with a focus on the camels.
The project aims to become a new point of tourist interest on the island, bringing interested visitors to the town of Uga.
Yaiza Mayor, Óscar Noda, explained that the museum’s main objective is to value the camels as an inseparable element of the history, landscape and identity of Yaiza & Lanzarote.
Noda stated that the project will “go out to tender soon, before the end of the year” and wanted to take the opportunity to defend the camel rides, and the staff that work there, “who have never had the recognition of society and have even been mistreated”.
“You can not understand Timanfaya National Park without the camels, nor the camels without Timanfaya, they have to go hand in hand”, Noda added, recalling that “they have been the precursors of this totally sustainable activity, which does no harm to animals and that is precisely what we want to represent in these facilities. An activity from which about 40 families survive on”.
Noda then gave way to Luis Cortázar, who is in charge of drafting the project, to explain the details of the proposed museum, “it is not about filling a space with interactive elements, but for Uga to be the axis of a new tourist product around the camels and that the town stops being a place of passage and becomes the tourist gateway to the south of the island”.
Cortázar highlighted its potential for its strategic location, as it connects with the wine region of La Geria, Timanfaya National Park, Salinas de Janubio and El Golfo, and with Playa Blanca.
Cortázar added that “tourist activity has allowed this breed of camel not to disappear”.
The museum will be structured in five sections: characteristics of the breed, history of the camel in the Canary Islands, traditional uses, presence in literature and art, and local testimonies that link the camel with the development of Yaiza as a tourist destination.
The new space will have six areas: a central courtyard, two exhibition halls, a reception-shop, an audiovisual room and the “Casa Celedonio”.
After the presentation, the Yaiza Councillor, Águeda Cedrés, spoke and insisted that the camel rides are a “sustainable activity that complies with the 2030 agenda”, in addition to reading a short text that describes the rides not only as a fun experience but also as a “living connection with the agricultural past of the island”.
Lastly, Noda stated, “we want the Camel Centre to be a cultural reference of the island and a place of pride for the families who have kept this activity alive, which also contributes to strengthen the local economy”.
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