Handicrafts
Basketry, using rushes and palms to weave hats, baskets and baskets, perpetuates ancient craft traditions. Pottery and ceramics are also very much in evidence, with reproductions of Taino statues in terracotta. Among objects representative of local culture, Limé dolls, ceramic figurines with featureless faces symbolizing the country's mixed race and wearing traditional clothing, originate from Moca and Santiago. Decorative pottery (vases, lighting fixtures) is also highly prized, although heavy to bring back! Wood is carved into drumsticks (southeast of the capital), kitchen utensils or Afro-Caribbean-style sculptures. Mahogany is used extensively, but as rare species are protected, this craft is less productive than in Haiti. Painting is also very present on all craft markets. Rather than works of art, we should speak of handicrafts here, as these are street paintings executed in large numbers. Its inspiration is naïve, of Haitian origin. You can also find unique works by more renowned artists, notably in boutiques in Las Terrenas, Punta Cana, Santo-Domingo or Bayahibe. In the central region of La Vega, you can also buy handmade masks produced during the carnival period.
Last but not least, cigar-making accounts for a large proportion of Dominican agricultural and craft activity. As in Cuba, the Dominican Republic's fertile soils are ideal for growing quality tobacco. In fact, the country is the world's leading producer of premium cigars! To take advantage of the best prices and avoid counterfeits, we recommend going directly to the official factories.
Gourmet basket
When it comes to consumables, the Caribbean is the place to find top-quality tropical sweets such as vanilla and, of course, rum! A national pride, the spirit made from sugar cane grown in the Dominican Republic is highly regarded internationally. As popular as the national beer Presidente, Dominican rum comes in a variety of qualities and brands, the best-known and most popular being Barcelo and Brugal. Less expensive than in our country, prefer 12-year-old rum, which is often as good as our XO. Staying with liquids, in addition to the excellent coffee produced here, we should mention Mamajuana, a typical Dominican digestif made from rum, red wine and honey macerated in a bottle previously filled with bark and local herbs. Reputedly medicinal, this liqueur is said to have digestive and aphrodisiac virtues. The easiest way is to buy a bottle of Mamajuana containing only the spices and barks, and fill it later with the necessary liquids. You can find them all over the country.
The Dominican Republic also has thousands of hectares dedicated to the cultivation of coconut palms for the production of coconut oil. This age-old craft is practised everywhere in the country, particularly on the islands of Saona and Bayahibe. Coconut oil has many benefits: it moisturizes and repairs dry skin and hair. It's also a good ingredient for cooking and an excellent... mosquito repellent! Cocoa trees are also plentiful, producing top-quality organic cocoa that is exported all over the world. It can be found in various forms in markets and supermarkets, as well as directly from producers.
Amber and Larimar
Larimar. Discovered in the south-west of the Dominican Republic in 1916 by the priest Miguel Domingo Fuertes de Lorenre, larimar is a semi-precious stone, more precisely a blue pectolite. Denied permission to mine, the stone remained in obscurity until rediscovered by Miguel Méndel in 1974. It was Méndel who christened it "larimar", a contraction of his daughter Larissa's name and the word mar ("sea" in Spanish), having discovered it by the sea. In the Dominican Republic, this stone is associated with feelings, and even love, so much so that it is customary to offer it at weddings. But it is also said to have other virtues: Dominican turquoise is reputed to bring calm, harmony and joie de vivre, dispelling anger and irritability. Others claim that it develops compassion and has beneficial effects on the throat and head. Finely cut and sometimes incorporated into jewelry, it can be found in many of the island's souvenir stores, but it is in the Bahoruco and Barahona regions that the largest number of cutting workshops are located. This is the place to go for the best bargains!
Amber. The Dominican Republic also has huge reserves of amber: several thousand tons are extracted every year. The origin of this plant-based semi-precious stone (the only one in the world, along with jet) dates back 48 million years. Called "sap stone" by the Romans, elektron by the Greeks and bernstein (burning stone) by the Germans, amber takes its name from the Arabic anbar, meaning "fossilized resin". This plant resin is in fact a photograph of the past: it bears scientific witness to the transformations and mutations that the Earth has undergone over several tens of millions of years. Directly linked to the country's specific climatic conditions, Dominican amber's palette of tones is the widest in the world: white, red, black, yellow, opal, green, blue, purple, golden and transparent lines can be detected. Today, amber is one of the most worked materials by Dominican craftsmen. But beware: this stone is easily counterfeited, and it often happens that a naive tourist will pay the price of the thousand-year-old resin for a beautiful plastic necklace. The enlightened amateur will therefore prefer official stores and jewels accompanied by their certificate of origin.
