Los diversos caminos hacia la misma cumbre

The existing rural space configuration, development and evolution of agriculture

systems are affected by a historic process of settlements and demographic changes

that occurred in different historical periods. The farming system and its evolution of

the Alpujarra has been described in detail by Sayadi (1998), Sayadi and Calatrava

(2001), among others.

Starting with the Arab conquest from the VII century, agriculture has developed

based on existing morphological, climatic and geographical conditions. The Arabs

treated the area with respect for the environment, adapting their way of life to

preserve it, thus creating harmony between their work, nature and agriculture

activities. They used natural water resources to extend and develop irrigation channels

in each production plot, using and improving the systems previously established by

the Romans. This is the period where even mountain slopes were adapted as terraces

where agriculture activities began. Anyhow, the aim of these terraces was not only to

extend artificial plots for cultivation but also to protect the land from erosion.

The area was known for its arboreal cultivation; many new cultivars were

introduced, such as figs, mulberries, pear, pomegranate, peach, etc. Mulberry was the

basis of the silk industry developed at that time. Vineyards, almond trees, figs and

olive trees represented the main cultivars of the area and through irrigation systems

reached very high productivity levels. The agriculture economy in Alpujarra until the

fifteenth century reached its peak based on multi crop production systems, and very

soon started with sheep and goat breeding.

The agriculture system raised by Arabs was maintained until the sixteenth century.

At this time the Kingdom of Granada began expelling the Moors from Alpujarra and

repopulating the area with Christians brought from other regions, mainly from

Northern Spain. This period was characterized by huge drops in population and

economic decline of the area, which occurred apparently as a result of new inhabitants

who could not adapt to the mountainous character of the area, having come from other

regions where flat land prevailed. New inhabitants were used to other working and

living conditions and techniques and types of cultivation different from those

introduced by the Moors. That is why the agriculture systems created by Moors failed

and the landscape transformed, although a number of Moors were allowed to return to

maintain the area. In order to give each family an equal land plot for planting of

different cultures, the land was fragmented and parcelized and as such remained until

the end of the twentieth century. During the eighteenth century mulberry and other

traditional arboreal plants like olive and almond were substituted with cereals. It is

important to mention that agriculture production in Alpujarra was poly-cultural

Mediterranean, carried out on the mountains of Alpujarraand not typical mountainous

agriculture agriculture (Mignon, 1982). Thus the Alpujarreñan farmers, even in the

higher areas, cannot be termed as “mountain people” either, in the classic sense of the

word, but rather a “Mediterranean farmers who live in the moutain”.

Only in the nineteenth century did the population gain familiarity with agriculture

systems; anyhow the irrigated terraced land was decreasing together with forested

areas in mountains, thus leading to environmental problems such as erosion.

In the ‘50s Alpujarra as other rural areas faced tremendous migrations to urban

areas and outside the country. Industrialization in the 50s and ‘60s did not bring any

positive changes to the agriculture economy, as the terrain was not suitable for

mechanization and also due to the very small farming system at subsistence level,

producing only the needs for rural families. Depopulation and an aging population

also contributed to the agriculture decline and difficulties competing in the market. In

this period agriculture systems were abandoned, causing degradation of the traditional

landscape and loss of traditional produce such as figs, olives and almonds. Loss of

traditional primary production led to disappearance of practices related to preparation

of typical local products (particularly those made of figs). Abandoned agriculture land

has led to change and loss of biodiversity due to abandonment of traditional

agriculture cultivars (Sayadi, González Roa, & Calatrava Requena, 2009; Pecoa,

Sánchez, & Azcáratea, 2006).

The area even now is characterized by polyculture production; its meadows are

known for production of horticulture, winter cereals and maize, arboriculture with

different species of fruit trees grown according to altitudes: orange, medlar, pears,

apples and olives. In high altitude areas there are usually barley, rye and potato,

cereals, vine, fig and almond cultivated in small terraces ‘paratas’ (Figure 4.4) Fig

tree cultivation as a traditional activity for Alpujarra is threatened due to the area’s

depopulation but also fromproblems with part of the plant and introduction of plant

material from other regions which are not previously tested for suitability to

agronomic conditions of the area (Perez‐Jiménez, López, Dorado, Pujadas‐Salvá,

Guzmán, & Hernández, 2012).

Figure 6.4 Almond trees cultivated on ‘paratas’ (small terraces) (Photo by Samir

Sayadi)

Livestock is also present in higher altitudes with breeding of sheep, goats, cattle

and a small number of pigs (Sayadi & Calatrava, 2006; Calatrava & Sayadi, 2006;

Dubeuf & Sayadi, 2014.)

The farming system now is result deterioration in the system to its current state,

which could be reflected by the following circumstances:

i) Abandonment of farming activities in part of the land previously cultivated, as a

result of a lack of labour to work the land,

ii) Decline in mountain livestock: a reduction in the movement of stock to summer

pasture, disappearance of salaried shepherds, a move towards winter grazing in the

costal hills instead of the high mountain pastures.