The Ethnographic Centre of Terra de Montes (CETMO), located in the Multipurpose Hall of Soutelo de Montes, is a place dedicated to the study, conservation and dissemination of the cultural and material heritage of the region. This museum has a collection of more than 1200 pieces (740 exhibited).

The Centre’s work is to prevent the heritage of our ancestors from being forgotten. Through the objects we try to show what daily life was like in the area until the sixties of the 20th century, that is, before the disappearance of the pre-industrial culture. The exhibits are therefore not of economic value, they are not beautiful or exotic, they bear witness to a way of life. The centre has a space dedicated to weaving, to clothing, to childhood. The complicated world of the loom is very well documented through objects such as “ripos”, “espadeleiros”, “sarillos”, looms, etc. You can also find objects related to religious beliefs, such as a confessional, a pocket of the souls. There is also a place dedicated to emigration, due to its importance in the disappearance of traditional culture, represented by a boot, letters and photos. The trades also have a place in the ethnographic centre, on the one hand to the trades related to the work of the wood: “serranchíns”, “zoqueiros” and carpenters as well as other trades: the equipment of the “cereiros” and the tools of the stonemasons. Finally, the representation of the most important work of the farmers: the field. Ploughs, carts, “sementadeiras”, “gadañas”, “mallos”, etc. allow us to reconstruct the ways of working of the peasants in the Terra de Montes. Texts and images from http://www.cetmo.info