Esparto handicraft in Almería.

The plant

The esparto grass is an herbaceous plant with hard, rolled, long leaves whose external root is called atocha or espartera. The sub-desert climate of the coast of Almería favours the growth of this plant, as the proximity to the sea, the saltpetre in the soil and the humidity are beneficial for its development, making the esparto grass more flexible and fibrous. The maturation of the esparto plant takes place in spring, the fruit being annual and its quantity varying according to the rainfall in winter and spring. During the first year and up to the third year, the plant is extremely sensitive to intense cold and frost. Growth is very slow at first, although after the third year of life it accelerates, producing useful esparto grass by the fifth year; it starts to decline at around the age of fifty and then degenerates.

Historical notes

In Spain, archaeological sites show that the use of esparto grass was deeply rooted before the Roman occupation. Historically, Almería has been the province that has made the best use of this natural resource for the manufacture of utensils that were present in every home: blowers, mats, blinds, baskets, panniers, harnesses, carafe covers, sieves, espadrilles, as well as for animal implements and ropes for the naval fleet and for fishing. In the 19^th century, the esparto industry flourished in the province of Almería thanks to the opening of the city’s port between 1847 and 1908, which favoured commercial contacts.

The increase in demand for this raw material throughout the 19^th century led to the creation of factories for the processing of esparto grass, such as the esparto manufacturing factory in the village of Pulpí. This type of factory concentrated a large number of workers. The braceros (labourers) collected the esparto grass from the surrounding mountains, carrying it on their backs to the points in charge of weighing the amount of esparto grass collected. The esparto grass was taken to the factory and stored until it was placed in pools of water so that it would boil and become more flexible for working. The esparto grass was then removed from the pool and dried in the sun to be treated in the mechanical mallets.

The workers settled the esparto grass into the mallets, which were used to chop the esparto grass, and they would turn the plant as the mallet crushed it. This process was carried out in order to remove the husk that envelops the plant’s fibre.

The resulting fibre passed through the spinners, who, using a kind of spinning wheel, made the raw material to be used in the production of objects.

Nowadays, the esparto grass craft is in decline, mainly due to the introduction of new raw materials and to the fact that the people who used to conduct this activity are generally elderly people, thus the esparto grass tradition has been lost in many towns.

Its cultivation has become one of the most representative elements of the cultural landscape of Almería, although nowadays it is only harvested in small quantities for the production of decorative objects.

Currently, the esparto handicraft is carried out mainly in various towns and villages in the province of Almería, such as Pulpí, Huécija, Lubrín and Vélez-Blanco, among other.

Period / Occurrence:

Continuous. The plant blossoms in spring and is harvested in August. The esparto worker can choose whether he wants branches from the previous year or new branches. The work of the esparto grass is carried out throughout the year, depending on the demand for objects.

Espartero en su oficio. Pulpí (Almería). Photo: Ana Belén García Muñoz. © Instituto Andaluz del Patrimonio Histórico