The workshop in Ricote will bring together irrigation scientists from different parts of the world with irrigators working in different traditional irrigation systems in Spain. We will embark on different group activities designed to encourage self-reflection on irrigation knowledge and mutual understanding. Traditional irrigators will reflect not only on their own knowledge, but also on the perspectives of scientists—and scientists will do the same in return. This exchange aims to create a shared space where diverse ways of knowing irrigation can meet, challenge and enrich one another.

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The village of Ricote A long history of irrigation

The Ricote irrigation system today spans around 180 hectares, with a very large extension dedicated to the cultivation of the lemon tree. Originally, however, it was a much smaller, spring-fed system of about 2 hectares with a wide range of oriental crops. It was likely constructed in the 10th or 11th centuries AD, during the time of al-Andalus, after the arrival of Berber and Arab communities in the Iberian Peninsula. The system expanded in the 15th and 16th centuries following the feudal conquest, reaching roughly 50 hectares. By the beginning of the 17th century, it had grown further, covering approximately 120 hectares. Until 1970, irrigation relied on springs; after that, it was supplemented by river water. In 2007 the Irrigators Community decided to implement drip irrigation.

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