The day began at dawn in the village square, where the town crier announced the start of activities. Participants, dressed in traditional attire and equipped with farming tools, shared biscuits and pastries with anise and sweet wine before heading to the chosen meadow for the oat harvest.
In the meadow, volunteers, armed with sickles, proceeded to cut the oats, gathering them into bundles to be tied and stored. This activity is a tribute to traditional agricultural labor and the region's rural culture, culminating in the collection of the grain for later threshing.
Concurrently, a demonstration of broom making was offered, along with a typical lunch featuring 'chorizo de olla' (pot chorizo) and torreznos (fried pork belly), accompanied by jotas (folk dances). The event, open to all, allows attendees to immerse themselves in the history and rural traditions of El Berrueco.
After the harvest, strength was replenished with lunch, and afterwards, local 'joteras' performed a Jota de Segadores (Reapers' Jota) in the village square. The tradition of threshing, using oxen from the mountains and accompanied by jotas, will be showcased at the Agroecological Fair in September.
This harvest day is part of an annual program that includes plowing and sowing cereal between October and November, and in June, the tradition of sheep shearing by professionals, with recreations of wool preparation and garment making.
