Olinala boxes are handmade by artisans from Olinalá, Guerrero.
They are made with aromatic lináloe wood. The lináloe tree occurs in some areas of the mountains of Guerrero, Morelos and Puebla.
With the lacquering technique, mythical and traditional figures and colors of Mexico are shaped.
They are elaborated in a very traditional and autochthonous way with vegetal paintings and of natural origin that the artisans produce (chia oil, tecoxtle, quartz, limestone, cotton fiber and natural pigments).
Part of the stones that are used to remove the initial dust from the raw material are limestone and tecoxtle, which are extracted from the mountains of the region.
These stones are heated in artisan ovens made of clay, resulting in a very fine powder, which together with the chia oil gives liquidity to the natural pigments used.
The artisans use tools that help to shape the decoration, such as: maguey thorns, güizache thorns, agates and jades, deer tails, turkey feathers, etc., preserving this art of pre-Hispanic origin.
They are a national heritage and the manufacturing technique is passed down from generation to generation.
The boxes of Olinalá are one of the 14 denominations of origin that Mexico has.