„Air“ or „Gel“ are typical marketing claims designed to make walking or jogging feel better. Now, another innovation has emerged from the Canary Islands: volcanic ash. The soles of a new shoe model are filled with ash from the Tajogaite volcano, which erupted on La Palma in 2021. The developers are making big promises – and they know what they’re talking about.
'Volkan' is the first barefoot shoe to be developed with a sole containing real volcanic ash. The model is available in a range of colours. It is the brainchild of the two founders.
Enrique Viña is a local outdoor guide and Javier Salinero works as a podiatrist, that is, a medical foot care specialist. Both have a natural affinity for walking in the Canary Islands. And so it took only around five years to turn the ash scattered all around the new volcano into a business model.
‚Volcan‘ shoes: Canary Islands volcanic ash for a better walking experience
The two founders wanted to use the material not just symbolically, but also to put it to practical use. And so the idea arose to incorporate it into shoes. These are designed to mimic the natural sensation of walking barefoot.
The two founders promise that the model features a wide toe box, a flat sole just four millimetres thick with no difference in height between the heel and the toe, and a high degree of flexibility for optimal ground contact. The sole incorporates volcanic ash from Tajogaite, which is mixed with rubber and processed into a patented material. The aim, the two founders promise, is to achieve greater durability whilst maintaining flexibility.
The shoes were tested on the hiking trails around El Paso, one of the communities on La Palma that was particularly affected by the eruption. A key aim of the project was to symbolically support the island’s reconstruction. To this end, a piece of Canary Islands history is being transformed into an everyday product that can be marketed internationally.
Volcano shoes from La Palma are set to be exported all over the world
The aim is to highlight the product’s unique character, which lies not only in the material but also in its direct link to the site of the volcanic eruption. The shoes themselves are designed for challenging terrain such as the volcanic trails of La Palma, but are also intended to be suitable for everyday urban use.
As well as the purely practical benefits of their shoes, the manufacturers also recognise their emotional value: with every step, a remnant of the destruction that took place on La Palma in 2021 is transformed constructively into part of everyday life.
Not only do the volcanic ash shoes from the Canary Islands originate on La Palma, but they are also produced there. The two manufacturers are capitalising on the global barefoot trend and, according to their own statements, are planning an international expansion. For the time being, however, the project is operating on a purely local basis. The shoes can currently be ordered via the manufacturer’s website. In the medium term, distribution is set to expand first across Spain, then beyond the country’s borders and ultimately beyond the EU.
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