Campus Spartarius

“Beware of the scorpion, under the bushes!” , Ginés García López shouted at the boys of the gang of esparto workers (sparteros) as they clumsily collected the tough plant material in the foothills of Cerro del Pino, City of Hellín. “Watch your eyes when you crouch!” , “You have tender hands”, “Don't pull so hard, you're taking the kill away”, he lectured. A few years later, those same young men would no longer fear an arachnid bite, they would take care not to stick an eye with the pointed leaves and would achieve a harvest yield that is difficult to believe today.

It was the fifties of the last century. In the middle of the canicula, the town's thin mountains were crammed with slouched silhouettes with frantic work activity. Millions of kilos of espartum fiber (Stipa tenacissima) descended down the slopes in mules and carts for subsequent treatment and manufacture.

When the importation of exotic fibers was banned during the dictatorship, the use of sputum became a bulwark against post-war misery, offering this and many other municipalities in southeastern Spain an opportunity for their recovery. Thus, an entire industrial economy was established, a production chain supported by complex automated machines. But all this novelty was nothing more than the legacy of manual work preserved for millennia, from the forgotten Iberian tribes that would see their decline with the arrival of great civilizations.

The Roman Empire also knew how to seize the opportunity and incorporated this vast heritage in favor of its expansion. He would perfect and spread this culture of esparto, whose products would arrive by land and sea to a large part of his domains, either as tools or as part of the cars or ships themselves.

This land of prosperity would be given a name: Campus Spartarius. Its landscape and legacy would continue to this day.

Baskets, carts, handles, cords, cords, ropes, slings, mats, chairs, footwear or tools for farmers and ranchers are some of the products of great strength and durability that would continue to be made in the same way for centuries, with skilled hands and patient work based on decades of learning and practice. A profession that today is on the verge of extinction, but which could represent a turning point in the fight against the hegemony of plastic and its disastrous consequences on the land, the seas, and on our own body.

The process begins with the collection of the espartum leaves, between July and October, when they are dry due to the heat and are less likely to damage the plant when stretching them. This also facilitates subsequent processing and provides a higher quality material. The collection is very simple. A cylindrical stick is used, preferably made of metal and with a widened end, around which a set of leaves is wrapped and pulled out, trying not to break them or pull the plant out of the ground. These leaves are grouped into bundles of a standardized size, and can then move on to the next stage of the process: treatment.

It begins with a week-long outdoor drying, followed by a “cook”, in which it is immersed in ponds of water in the sun for approximately two weeks. In this way, there is a certain decomposition of plant tissue, making it softer and more malleable, but no less resistant. Finally, the sputum is “pitted”, hitting it numerous times with a sledgehammer to finish softening it and detaching the woody part. “Raking” is optional and has a similar function, by combing the blades with steel pins. The result is a soft and easy to handle fiber that does not break easily when woven.

You can also work with raw, untreated sputum, which is not very malleable but very stiff and resistant once woven. Depending on the type of piece and finish you want to achieve, you will work with raw sputum or with chopped espartum, although the latter is the most commonly used.

The great complexity and variety of esparto pieces that can be made is achieved by combining the leaves of this plant in basic types of tissue, such as Lawsuit, the most popular and consisting of a sheet that is woven in length with a variable width, depending on the number of branches used. The fight can in turn be combined with each other or with other types of fabrics, such as chrysneja, twine or fence, to create the final product.

In addition to the production of tools, esparto has also been used in construction, to reinforce materials and structures such as plaster ceilings, as part of the mixture of conglomerates and mortars, and even as a cleaning material or polishing tool.

Added to this versatility are the physical properties of espartum, which stands the test of time impassively with minimal care, even in the toughest conditions. All this without the intervention of chemical treatments.

In a world dominated by synthetic products such as plastic, where their remains contaminate even the most remote and apparently pristine places, the “three erres” (Reduce, Reuse and Recycle) have never been so important. The use of natural and biodegradable materials such as espartum makes it possible to more than meet these three objectives.

This resource would allow us to reduce our dependence on plastic, fulfilling the same function as a strong and durable material. The different forms of sputum tissue could create many of the objects needed in our daily lives. High-quality footwear, rugs or mats, containers of all kinds, backpacks, bags, hats, tools, furniture, decorative objects, toys or construction materials.

In addition, these products would be made through highly specialized and duly remunerated artisanal work, which would create a fair and local trade that would revitalize this centuries-old profession in many of the disadvantaged peoples of the rural world, of whom we have heard so much about. Well, it is in these places that the remnant of the Espartera tradition is found, which it is urgent to recover and preserve, so that it does not fall into oblivion with the people who have brought it to us.

Entities such as the Museo del Esparto de Riópar dedicate their efforts to the recovery, conservation and dissemination of this knowledge. By preparing workshops aimed at all audiences, we try to reappreciate the opportunity offered by this natural fiber, at a time as critical as the one we are living in. In addition, the diverse collection of historical Esparto pieces, some of which are more than a century old, demonstrates to the visitor that another type of life is possible.

Innovation in sustainability is not just a matter of high technology. We must also look back. Combining the best of the past and the present, because, once again, “If I have been able to see further, it has been because I have risen on the shoulders of giants”.

Álvaro García, Biodiversity