Makhila Ainciart Bergara Basque stick made traditionally, by hand and made to measure

A traditional Basque staff, the makhila or makila symbolizes a whole way of living, thinking, and honoring. Elegant, practical, formidable, an object of decoration as well as defense, a distinctive sign or walking companion, it is an essential element of Basque sensibility.
"Makhila" (or makila) means "the stick" in the Basque language.
A jewel of Basque craftsmanship, the makhila or makila is made by the Ainciart Bergara family in Larressore, a village in the Basque Country.

Discover the Ainciart Bergara website, the noble manufacturing process, the ancestral know-how of the only Basque family that has traditionally made makhilas for 6 generations.

The Ainciart Bergara makhila factory is located in the center of the village of Larressore, along the main road and on the pediment (Basque pelota playing area).

The house is old. Its name, Killoteia, comes from the Basque word for distaff. It was once a renowned linen weaving workshop, but the Ainciart family also made distaffs and makhilas there. Only the makhila or makila production survived, with Jean Ainciart. In 1926, his daughter Marie-Jeanne married Jean Bergara, and the makhila became Ainciart Bergara.

The factory workshop can be visited every day, except Sundays and public holidays, from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. and from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. (Saturday: 5 p.m.).

You can watch the different stages of making a makhila on the very old workbenches, count the medlar stems being dried, and examine a photo gallery of artists, politicians and sportsmen who have received a makhila made here: Léon Zitrone, Gérard Klein, César, Charlie Chaplin, Chirac, General de Gaulle, Ronald Reagan, Prince Philip, Pope John Paul II, Platini, Cantona, Lizarazu, the architect Pei, Nelson Mandela and many others, including all the presidents of the Republic from Lebrun to Nicolas Sarkozy and François Hollande.

There you will see the Best Craftsman of France diploma awarded in 1936 to Jean Bergara for the perfect welding of the pommel of the makhilas of honor. You can sit on a zuzulu, listen to all the useful explanations and, of course, touch the medlar wood and try the different makhila models. The workshop is EPV Centenaire et Plus (Living Heritage Company) and their makhila has been included in UNESCO's inventory of rare crafts.

SCHEDULES :

• Monday to Friday, 9am to 12pm and 2pm to 6pm
• Open Saturday morning from 9am to 12pm
• Closed on public holidays