// AÑANA’S SALT VALLEY Deiby Betancur Grisales
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HISTORY Valle Salado is one of the oldest industries in the world. We must have in mind that salt was and is indispensable in a multitude of industrial processes and in human and animal food. Especially when the industrial cold had not developed yet, since it was one of the most effective methods for conserving the food. Salt has been the cause of numerous wars and forced peace, deaths and encumbrances, wealth and poverty, the creation and destruction of towns and cities. The Salt Valley is one of the most representative examples worldwide of the history of salt, known as “white gold”. The natural development of springs of brine has caused that in its immediate environment uninterrupted development for thousands of years an important settlement SALT ARCHITECTURE The unusual salt architecture that has been generated in Añana is the result of the exchange of cultural and human values that have developed throughout its history. This popular architecture does not show the rigid architectural styles of scholarly knowledge, but, due to its utilitarian character, in the valley have harmoniously coexisted technological innovations with the material testimonies of the different eras. Following the patterns marked by experience and tradition, the salineros have created an unusual, anonymous, popular and traditional architecture. With few exceptions, the salt architecture of Valle Salado has not used specialized labor, but the salineros themselves have been in charge of the constructions, using the materials that the nature of the environment provides them with:
Past times
stone, wood and clay. In the process, the minimum resources have been used with maximum efficiency in an absolutely sustainable and ecological way, applying an ingenious technology. The result is a humanized landscape formed by more than four kilometers of wooden channels that lead the salt water from the springs to the wells and stepped terraces, built with stone, wood and clay, which support the eras where the salt is collected. This has meant a high fragility of the structures, in need of continuous care and maintenance. The salineros have taken advantage of the stone walls as a base for the wooden structures on which to build high-rise terraces that, in some cases, can exceed eight meters. ELEMENTS Springs: the springs are surges that supply the brine at the surface level in a natural and continuous manner, which allows its use without the need for drilling or pumping. There is a large number in Valle Salado and its surroundings. Brine driving: the salt water transport is carried
