Puebla, Mexico. In addition to the emission of gases, steam and ash, the recent activity of the Popocatepetl volcano has fueled the ingenuity of artisans from the municipality of Atlisco, in the state of Puebla, central Mexico, who saw in the ash an opportunity to generate income cheaply and now sell it in small jars.

After the constant and massive ash emissions from Don Goyo, as the mountain is commonly known, Silvia Juarez, owner of the craft store La Pasadita, and her family got together and started joking about selling the volcanic material in small quantities. glass jars, a kind of memory of a place and a moment, as if it were sand from the beach.

And what was at first a joke became a serious topic that touched the heart, and given the opportunity, they got to work.

This Friday, the woman shared with EFE that after the intense activity of the volcano, they met for several hours with the store’s creative team “to make the product more attractive and to make it an object that tourists could take home” or to themselves. loved ones as a “souvenir” of your visit to the charming city of Atlisco.

So they began sweeping the driveways of their homes and businesses, and rooftops, and streets to collect the ashes and put them in bags while the idea was completed.

Afterwards they got glass bottles about 3.5 centimeters in size with everything they needed and a stopper into which they pour the absolutely pure and clean ash they get after sifting the dust, in addition to removing any stones and debris it may have.

Then place the cork and stick it on a small label with the phrases “I remember there are some in Atlixco, and they are worth a mother (to disappear)” and “I remember the bowels of the Popocatepetl volcano.”

The vendor shared that the cans cost 20 or 35 pesos (about $1.10 or $1.90).

The one with the highest price because they have a magnet so that the “souvenir” can be placed on the fridge door, seeking to innovate and do something very typical of the region, as he assured that people always look for souvenirs that have a name painted on them or the photographed Popocatepetl Volcano.

“People have different comments,” says the woman. “Some say they will leave the ashes for me to use (although it is not known for what), and others say that everything has its own business.”

However, he noted, “we want to have a moment of joy in this situation, we don’t pretend to be different, the residents know the dangers we face living near the volcano,” he noted. Visitors and tourists can buy this product in La Pasadita stores or through the Facebook page of the same name, as they can be sent to different parts of the country and the world if they are interested.

The incident, which caused intense volcanic activity, was the second blow since the COVID-19 pandemic to shops and businesses in the Mexican state of Puebla, one of the worst hit by the ash fall along with Morelos and the state of Mexico, the center of the country.

Over the past week, the volcano has spewed red-hot material, steam and ash.

Mexican authorities have been analyzing Popocatepetl’s activity every day since its current eruption phase in 1994.