Footwear manufacture has historically been a craft activity that has developed in diverse ways, both in terms of procedures and in terms of the raw materials used and the footwear models. The activity is also conditioned by the different regions, depending on a series of variables, standing out the climatological and socio-economic conditions, the availability of raw materials, the use of footwear and the aesthetic criteria imposed by different cultures and fashions.

In the town of Valverde del Camino, footwear manufacturing, one of the most globalised production sectors, has nowadays undergone a process of mechanisation, with only a few small companies keeping handcrafted production alive. However, handmade work is nowadays a practice that complements the use of machines.

Anyhow, it is true that the productive fabric is usually centred on small family-run companies, and that they still maintain direct control over the different stages of the process and the quality of the final product.

Footwear production in Valverde del Camino has determined the socio-economic situation of the village in recent centuries and its development as a central production core in the whole region and in the province of Huelva. From the end of the 18th century, livestock farming became the main activity in the village of Valverde -which at that time was still called Facanías- due to the scarcity of arable land. Thanks to its geographical position as a crossroads and the livestock farms existing, many handicraft activities linked to the processing and use of hides were developed. In Valverde, there was a high specialization of tanners, leather workers, saddlers, shoemakers and other leather craftsmen.

In the past, each village had its own shoemaker and many of them tanned hides and manufactured articles for everyday use, but from 1700 onwards, Valverde began to specialise as a production centre at a regional level.

The exploitation of the mines and the arrival of foreign companies to exploit them meant a change for the local economy and for the shoe craftsmanship, both in the quantity of products and in their quality and use.

Until 1912, footwear production was carried out by hand, in a totally artisanal way, and the process included the treatment of the raw material, while from this date onwards the activity became more specialised and the first factory was founded, marking the birth of the Valverde footwear industry. But its success was short-lived, as production went into a deep crisis during the First World War.

In 1920, the first corporate union made up of shoemakers and residents of the town, Crédito Obrero, was formed while the second factory was founded. From then on, the footwear sector became a productive segment in strong expansion, recognised nationally and internationally above all thanks to the typical boto campero (riding boot), which had already won prizes as the best footwear in Vienna in 1873.

Through years of great success and others of deep crisis, footwear manufacturing has been maintained until today in the village, although with important transformations.

Artesanía del Cuero. Andalucía Turismo y Deporte. www.andalucia.org

Empalmillado. Photo: Erica Bredy. © Instituto Andaluz del Patrimonio Histórico

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Procedimiento mecanizado. Photo: Erica Bredy. © Instituto Andaluz del Patrimonio Histórico

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Colocación del piso de piel sobre la horma. Photo: Erica Bredy. © Instituto Andaluz del Patrimonio Histórico

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Artesanía del Cuero

4. Artesanía del Cuero. Andalucía Turismo y Deporte. www.andalucia.org

Canal Sur Turismo. (2019). Fábrica artesanal de calzado. Valverde del Camino, Huelva. [Video File].