The Mill That Ground the Gofio of the Canary Islands

The Molino de Cuevas Blancas is a conical windmill that stands around 10 metres tall. It is a skeletal remains of an era that abandoned it to rot.

In days past, the wind moved through its blades. This was a site of heavy rhythm and dust, where grain was beaten into Gofio, the staple flour of the Canary Islands. This machinery was used to manufacture the food that sustained the local population.

Narrow stairs, around 1 metre wide, divide the inner floors like ribs. The ground level served as a warehouse and a bedroom for the miller, while the machinery was located on the second level. A pointed roof conceals the turning mechanism, a web of beams and gears where blades and a rudder were connected to capture the breeze.

Though it was restored in 1974, the mill has since been abandoned and is falling apart in the middle of a building warehouse. It remains a protected Bien de Interés Cultural, a monument to a life that harnessed the wind to sate a hungry land.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons