The plant of Lagenaria siceraria, usually known as mate or pumpkin in Peru, produces a woody bark fruit that is the material used to produce mates burilados. The craftsman's main tool, is a  stick  with a steel nail, whose tip (thin or thick) is triangular in shape. The technique is to make fine incisions the mate creating drawings that usually represent scenes of great dynamism as "comics" with themes related to peasant life.

The more special mates burilados are known for the miniaturization  of drawings, which can often only be appreciated by means of a magnifying glass. There are small and quite large mates where a whole story of a village is told. What makes these mates burilados exquisite are the detailed hand-scribed designs.

The prices of the mates will depend on how detailed they are. They do make a point of covering the gourd completely with designs. Some will represent a story, a village party, a harvest, etc.… They will have flowers, jungle animals, musical instruments, towns, people working, people dancing, and some even have written stories.

Some of the mate burilados are signed by the craftsperson who did them.