About
Esparto has always been one of the most popular materials used to make household items (baskets, hampers, rush mats...) and also for agricultural-farming activities (panniers, saddlebags, ropes...). It was therefore an important resource in Andalusia and in Morocco, mainly used in the Andalusian provinces of Granada and Almeria.
Additionally, we must also remember that esparto fields are landscapes found exclusively in the south eastern part of the Iberian Peninsula and the sub-desert border area of Maghreb countries. Esparto fields serve as a mechanism to combat desertification and the erosive processes in these arid areas.
This trail begins in the town of Castillejar in the Granada Province and continues on to Galera. In both towns we can find two cultural infrastructures which are immensely important for learning about esparto, its historical relevance as a natural resource and current processing methods.
Esparto communities from the region of Granada have been characterised by the extraordinary skills they have developed for gathering and transforming esparto fibre into countless everyday tools and objects such as footwear, utensils and bread baskets. These communities have been able to refine their techniques to such a point that they have become specialised in several esparto-related trades such as 'espadrille making', 'basket crafting' and 'esparto weaving'. In Andalusia, the latter of the three trades is mainly practiced by women.
Unfortunately, people no longer take interest in learning these trades nowadays due to the enormous socioeconomic changes that have taken place in recent years. Since these professions are not being passed on, the current generation may become the last in a line of esparto craftsmen and craftswomen unless we find a way to prevent this from happening. Today, however, the esparto culture continues to linger on in some towns that have direct access to their main source of supply: the vast esparto fields that this route passes through.
The importance of this activity can be clearly seen at both the Castillejar Ecomuseum and the Galera museum. At both museums, esparto is the central focus of an investigation that delves into the historical and present-day use of this material in this region.
Beyond the administrative boundaries that set borders, esparto grass is the backbone and a vital resource for protecting the land as well as for the development of proposals aimed at safeguarding trades, knowledge and techniques that need to be defended in this globalised world.
These and other aspects emphasise the importance of esparto grass given that its harvest, use and transformation contribute to sustaining the ecosystems ofthe Intercontinental Biosphere Reserve of the Mediterranean (RBIM) at the same time that it strengthens biodiversity and protects cultural diversity.
By: Andalusian Historical Heritage Institute
