Offbeat Spain: A Medieval ruin and an art hub tucked inside a forest
Among the pine groves in Segovia province of Spain, away from the chaos of the city, with the natural forest noise in the background, I am playing with Meena, a friendly Labrador. A film of mist surrounds us. Occasionally, it clears revealing stunning view of the woods that thrive on the cliff below.
Meena runs along with me. A little ahead on the dirt road, we come across the ruins of a 13th century Christian monastery known as the Cistercian Monastery of Santa Maria de la Sierra, which is classified now as a national monument of Spain. Most of the site has now crumbled, except the church that still stands with its gothic arches, albeit without a roof. The foundation of the living quarters stares out into the sky. It is very easy to feel that the ruins have the potential to uncover jaw-dropping archeological secrets.
I follow Meena as she leads me to a nearby wooden cottage standing on a raised platform under the leafy oaks and pines. She wags her tail furiously now, running and rolling, intoxicated with happiness. When Miguel comes out of the door, she flings herself on him. Miguel is Meena’s human.
Organic colours of Abbatte
The cottage is the yarn dyeing room of Abbatte, a textile brand. Deriving inspiration from the nearby monastic ruins, the brand is named after the word “abbey” that means dwelling place of monks. Abbatte owns this heritage plot and caters from it.
Meena is visibly disappointed— Miguel didn’t allow her to enter the cottage. But I don’t blame Miguel, the cottage is the laboratory of Abbatte. Heaps of thread hang from different parts of the room. They have various hues. Ovens, pots, jars clutter the space. Here, plants and dead insects are dissected and processed to produce tints.
A sackful of Indian madder roots is kept beside the European madder. “The red shade of the Indian madder is very different from that of the European madder,” says Miguel. Putting madder into hot water extracts the colour. There is a threshold for the heat. If the water is above a critical temperature the colour would turn brown instead of red. Interestingly, the current Spanish law requires farmers cultivating madder to cultivate some other food crop like wheat side-by-side. Otherwise, since madder is very profitable, everyone would use their fields only for madder.
Cochineal, an insect harvested majorly in the Latin American countries of Peru and Mexico, made its way to Spain’s Canary Island with the Spanish colonization of the Americas. The dead insect requires sensitive handling and is valued for its rich red colour. The dried insect put into cold water would not accrue any hue; while in hot water, however, it would release a reddish tint. The shade is dependent on the pH of the water. If pH is acidic the colour would be lighter, if it is alkaline, it would be darker.
“If the cochineal dyed cloth is later washed in water having a different pH level (than the water used while extraction of the colour), then the shade of the colour would change. That’s why we ourselves wash the yarn numerous times and dry it under the forest sun before moving on to the next step. Right now, we have a client from Catalonia. I am calling up the city hall, pharmacies of the region, and trying my best to know the pH of the water there so that we can perfectly manipulate the finished product,” says Miguel.
Fibres used
Indigo, dried shellac flakes, acacia bark and various other dyeing agents sit with a batch of wool—not the usual one that we get in India. I have never seen the South American animal alpaca, but in Abbatte, I see alpaca wool. It can have 22 natural colours! Merino wool and cashmere is also used alongside.
Among plant-based yarn, hemp, the industrial cannabis, is in high demand. “We are looking for more hemp suppliers,” adds Miguel. While linen is used, Abbatte stays away from cotton— the mainstream and ordinary fabric— unless asked for by the client.
Mathematical accuracy
For the sake of evenness, all threads are first dyed with the same base colour. The next step that includes dyeing with distinct colours involve number crunching. The main variables being the weight of the wool and the percentage of hue. The latter further depends on the fact if the colour is an extract or a whole plant. Extracts require lesser quantity.
Notes from the garden
Our exit from the wooden cabin elates Meena. First, she cuddles up at Miguel’s feet, and then follows us to Abbatte’s botanical garden. The plants, all natural pigment sources, serve only decorative and educational purposes here. I focus on the surrounding nature.
Located in the backdrop of the Cistercian Monastery of Santa Maria de la Sierra, the garden overlooks a cliff. While a pack of wolves march the upper slopes of the mountain beyond, wild pigs, deer, foxes and humans frequent its lower edges. Mushroom enthusiasts flock to these slopes in November to collect the seasonal Boletus mushroom. Though campervans are allowed, free camping is restricted to preserve the cleanliness of the region.
When Meena becomes unruly and starts digging up the roots of a baby plant, Miguel decides to take her away from the garden.
The loom room and products of Abbatte
Among handlooms, we find refuge. Here, the four local weavers employed by Abbatte give shapes to the threads. The clatter of the loom echoes in the silent room when Miguel gives a demo. Rugs, curtains, blankets, table linens, bedspreads, headboards and wall hangings are the typical products of the brand. Wearable items include shawls. They are elegant, minimal, sans any design.
I point to a random blanket stacked in a corner shelf and ask for its price. “€570,” I hear back. Another softer alpaca wool blanket is tagged €600. The price of carpets are quoted according to size. Assembling the yarn into fabric on the handloom by using warp and weft is the longest process— a 1 metre cloth and a 20 metre cloth demands the same amount of time. This is the reason why Abbatte doesn’t accept small orders. Given that the effort required for all orders below a certain threshold is the same, the price charged for small quantities would be unsustainable.
“Everything is available online on our website,” says Miguel. Abbatte has four outlets in Madrid. The company mostly deals with Spanish clients, though gradually Americans from New York, San Francisco and French customers from Paris are discovering the brand. Much of this discovery is owed to the brand’s continuous participation in exhibitions in Paris for the last six years.
Just across the loom room is the lounge. One of its walls is unique—medieval bricks with their fissures stand exposed. The wall is a tiny part of the Cistercian Monastery of Santa Maria de la Sierra that is still intact. The other walls are of glass. Through the glass walls of the lounge, I relish brilliant views of the green lawn and the mountains.
Medieval lounge and workshops
I settle on the sofa as Meena tucks herself under the dining table. Here, Elena, a biologist and professor, the owner of Abbatte, hosts courses, conferences, seminars and workshops for all who are interested in textile, natural dyes, painting on silk, reed basketry and headgear. The last two are ancient (Iberian) crafts of the region.
One-day workshops costs around €110. It includes coffee and lunch. The attendees are mostly Spanish, though once in a while French and American tourists already in Segovia for leisure or work trips visit. On those rare days, one of the Abbatte staff helps with English translation for the course.
Today is a rare day too. I wonder if any Indian before me has visited these Spanish woods; if they have been among these whistling trees, in the company of human’s best friend.
Do you have any offbeat experiences in Spain that you are willing to share? Comment below, I am listening!
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Disclaimer: Tania was hosted by Spain Tourism Board. All thoughts and opinions expressed in the post are of her own.
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Tania Banerjee
Tania is a freelance writer based in India who tinkers with words here and there but mostly focused on travel, food, arts and crafts. She writes for several Indian dailies and magazines.
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