RURAL BUILDINGS OF MOUNTAIN REGIONS IN GALICIA: A RESOURCE TO INCREASE IN VALUE

Nowadays, the mountain in Galicia seems to have an exclusively forest porpouse, but traditionaly, this did not happen. The use of mountain is a model of sustainable situations, according to Balboa. Theses uses in Galicia could be summarized in the following points: “Estivadas”, use of the mountain based on utilization of fire for renewing gorse and broom bushes, getting collateraly a harvest of rye. Rotation of rye-fallow during periods of 6-10 years and then let bushes to take up the land. “Esquilme”, which is a practice consisting on the use of bushes for cattle bedding. Once this material turned into manure, it could serve to fertilize crop lands. Mountain pastures which were a huge pastures land for cattle herds: cows, sheep, goats and, to a lesser extent, horses. These animals grazed in freedom, semifreedom or colective grazing (system of “veceiras”). Apart from these main uses, there were others as: firewood, timber, fruits (chestnuts) or honey. These traditional uses could be found in mountain regions in Galicia, where there are different kinds of buildings depending on the area, which are dissapearing. All these constructions, today into disuse in most of cases, are a resource which should be held up, and not only because they have an ethnographic interest