Being self sufficient in a small space is much easier (and enjoyable) than you might think!
A few years ago, I knew nothing about gardening. It seemed like a useful but time-consuming hobby: too much hard work and too much information to take in. Then I moved to a small farming community in the mountains of southern Spain, where old men wearing flat caps still use mules to plough the earth, and everyone in the village has their own vegetable garden, or huerto.
Just 40 kilometres inland from the hotels and souvenir shops of the Costa del Sol lies the Genal Valley, where tiny white villages forgotten by the march of time cling to pine-fringed mountains. These picturesque pueblos blancos, their crumbling houses brightened by red geraniums, are a quaint reminder of a rustic bygone age.
Here, self-sufficiency is not an alternative buzzword but rather the default way of life. Men in battered flat caps use mules to plough the earth, firewood is collected from the surrounding forest to heat homes in winter, and the majority of people in these villages- some with populations of under 200- have smallholdings, growing organic produce and rearing animals for meat all year round.
Sheep, goats, chickens and pigs are kept by most families, and the latter are killed at the end of the long winter in an event known as La Matanza – literally ´the slaughter´. Relatives and friends lend a hand, preparing meat products to be stored for the coming year. Perishable meat is eaten immediately and washed down with copious amounts of alcohol. Like everything else in Andalusia, La Matanza is as good a reason as any for a fiesta.
Continue reading ““La Matanza”, Spain: is killing our own food the only way to eat ethically?”
Dubbed ´the city of dreams´, the famous hilltop fortress of Ronda is the third most visited city in Southern Spain, and by far the most spectacular. The largest of the celebrated pueblos blancos, Ronda is known for the architectural wonder that is the El Tajo bridge, which straddles a 300ft gorge and offers panoramic views over the surrounding countryside. Orson Welles and Ernest Hemingway- not to mention David Cameron and Michelle Obama- are just some of Ronda´s notable aficionados.
Aside from its breathtaking location, Ronda´s charm lies in its size. Small enough to explore on foot in one day, it still manages to boast all the best bits of rival Andalusian hotspots: the rich Moorish history of Cordoba, the Sevillian-style horse-drawn carriages and jasmine-scented plazas, and labyrinthine cobbled streets so reminiscent of those in Granada´s old Albaycín quarter.
But Ronda is simply the jewel in the crown of a very special and largely undiscovered part of Andalusia. The surrounding area, the Serranía de Ronda, is made up of sprawling natural parks, timeless white hamlets, and rolling green hills. Doe-eyed lovers gazing out at the landscape from one of Ronda´s many paisajes romanticos may well forget they are in dusty Southern Spain, and it would be a great shame to visit the city without venturing further afield to discover authentic Andalusian slow living at its most irresistible.
Without a doubt, the most awe-inspiring area of the Serranía is the Genal valley, just a few kilometres south of Ronda. Here, the smallest and prettiest pueblos blancos nestle amongst pine-clad mountains, and golden eagles soar high above the fertile valley of olive, lemon and orange plantations.
I have another blog about country life in this beautiful part of rural Spain. If this interests you, you can find it here.
Sophie McAdam 