The legacy of the Moors in Spain
More than 1300 years ago, Moorish rulers had irrigation canals built in southern Spain. Some of this infrastructure is still in use today and has proven ideal for small farmers.
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00:00 Paco Perez is 95 years old, but he still lends a hand when he's needed.
00:07 Hardly anyone in his village knows the old irrigation system as well as he does.
00:18 Seeing the water and the canals was always the greatest thing for me.
00:25 We tended our fields with it. We lived from those canals.
00:31 In the 8th century, the Moors built a complex network of canals in the mountains of the Alpujarra region in southern Spain.
00:43 Even today, the irrigation ditches are still used.
00:47 Paco and his son Antonio use the system to water their pepper crop, so they're benefiting from the Moorish legacy.
00:55 The system they left us is something very important.
01:02 Even though the Romans built irrigation canals, the Arabs perfected them.
01:07 But many of the ditches haven't been used for years.
01:11 That's why they're restoring them, in cooperation with archaeologist José MarÃa MartÃn Civantos.
01:17 He says the benefits go far beyond farming.
01:21 Old canals like this one here are very important to the environment.
01:28 They create life. Some of the water seeps in and appears further down below.
01:36 That way, the system contributes to greater biodiversity.
01:42 The network of canals prevents the water from draining too quickly, water that's becoming increasingly scarce.
01:50 Paco says there's no denying climate change anymore.
01:54 It hasn't snowed in my village for 18 years.
02:01 Before, we always had to sweep the snow off of the flat roofs and onto the street.
02:07 Sometimes we'd have snow for 15 days, 20 days, a month. Those days are over.
02:13 Reservoirs show the notorious water scarcity.
02:19 And yet Spain is farming more and more tropical fruits like mangoes and avocados, which need lots of water.
02:27 As a result, farmers rely increasingly on automated systems that deliver water to individual plants drop by drop.
02:35 Agricultural engineer Eduardo Maldonado says the old canals are obsolete,
02:42 because water seeps out and evaporates as it's transported.
02:46 Drip irrigation is the future.
02:51 It's much more efficient and can be implemented on all types of farms.
02:57 It allows us to save between 40 and 60 percent of water.
03:02 Paco and Antonio aren't impressed.
03:08 They continue to water their fields with what comes from the Moorish irrigation canals.
03:13 But they recognize that it's not profitable for big farming operations.
03:18 These days, one person has to do many jobs all at once.
03:24 That's the real reason why they're switching to automated drip irrigation.
03:28 It's not because it's better.
03:30 Archaeologists view the Moorish irrigation ditches as being more contemporary than ever.
03:39 That's why they're trying to learn from the seniors in the villages of Apaljara.
03:44 This knowledge is being forgotten.
03:50 If we look at efficiency from several points of view, and also environmental benefit,
03:55 then the systems are much more effective,
03:58 especially against the backdrop of climate change today.
04:02 But there are fewer and fewer traditional farmers using the old canals.
04:13 That makes it more difficult to keep the Moorish legacy alive.
04:18 Young people these days don't know anything about it.
04:22 Back in the day, old people stepped back and sent the young ahead.
04:26 Today, I'm still coming to work in these canals at the age of 95.
04:33 But that's young compared to the more than 1,000-year-old Moorish irrigation canals.
04:42 So for Pako and others like him, giving up is out of the question.
04:47 For Pako and others like him, giving up is out of the question.
04:51 (music)
04:53 [BLANK_AUDIO]