Families in Calasparra who have earned their livings for generations by cutting and collecting esparto grass from the mountains are looking to revive this cottage industry as a way out of the crisis.
Esparto grass grows rampantly around Calasparra and, once cut, it simply grows again providing a continuous supply of raw material which was used in a multidude of differnt ways such as making ropes, in the construction industry and for weaving baskets and other artesan products.
With the passing of time esparto grass has been superseded as a raw material by modern artifical products which are easier to use and cheaper to produce. However, esparto is making a comeback as an ecological alternative for biomass fuels, making paper pulp and in the construction industry for highly resistent coving. The great advantage of esparto grass, unlike wood chips and other cultivated crops, is that is it is in endless supply, simply growing wild in the mountains.
It is hard, gruelling work but for generations some families in Calasparra have made their livings from esparto grass and now a new webpage hopes to give this cottage industry a boost.
“Espartomurcia.com,” soon to be bilingual, hopes to attract customers from different industries by offering a lorry load of esparto free to new customers so they can “try out” its qualities. The prime movers in this campaign are also aiming to export the raw material to other parts of Europe.
Esparto grass is a completely ecological and natural product and the process of cutting and collecting it also makes an important contribution to keeping our mountains clear and protecting them from forest fires.
