Among the many trades and tasks related to water in the Sierra de las Nieves World Biosphere Reserve were those of the washerwomen. Until washing machines were introduced into homes, laundry in these villages was washed by hand at public washhouses, in irrigation ditches, and along the banks of streams and rivers.
This arduous task was carried out by women, as it was strictly women’s work in a rural society where gender roles were deeply entrenched. The knowledge was passed down from mothers to daughters on the job. Using soap made from oil, they knelt on the ground, scrubbing the clothes they had soaked in water and then wringing them out. The process was repeated several times and required considerable physical effort.
In a wise decision, the town of El Burgo has chosen to pay tribute to rural women by creating the Paseo de las Lavanderas on the very spot where, for centuries, generation after generation of women from El Burgo worked hard at this trade.
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