The gavia is an original agricultural system typical of arid areas where rainwater that arrives in runoff, taken from the shelters and carried through pipes to the fertile lands, is stored in the same place of cultivation.
They are actually small plots of land converted into temporary water dams thanks to the closure of their entire contour with walls or ridges of earth called trastones, preceded by the torna that gives entrance or closure to the water. Communicated with each other by an ingenious staggered structure connected through gates, the overflow of one plot allows the filling of the next, or its evacuation when it reaches a certain level thanks to some spillways that prevent the collapse of the clumps.
De esta forma el agua de lluvia torrencial, que llega cargada de nutrientes por las laderas, es reconducida hacia las parcelas. En ellas, gracias a lo arcilloso de los suelos, se irá infiltrando lentamente en lo que popularmente se conoce como “beber la gavia”.
