Artefacts for domestic hygiene: washboard

Women had to go to the river with washboards and baskets which held several kilos of dirty clothes, sometimes pre-bleached at home which meant it was wet and so heavier.

They went in groups, accompanied by the youngest children, and the process of washing, bleaching in the sun if required, rinsing and drying could take all day. In some places, girls had small wooden washboards made by their parents.

Photo, Clara Sánchez