Barefoot Magazine

23/01/2020

12/12/2019

Migrants of Almería: Most British consumers aren’t aware that the produce they’re buying is being supplied by, what largely amounts to, modern slave labour.

Almería’s farmers and distributors – in light of competition from markets in Turkey and Morocco plus higher operating costs, mean that undocumented migrants are being used. About 30% of workers in “Europe’s Greenhouse” are undocumented.

Many of them are striving to obtain the credentials they need to make start a new life. The Spanish government requires a one year “Social Roots” period for new immigrants. Difficult for many, it is impossible for some who take undocumented work. Migrants are paid about 35 euros ($38) per day, on hand, on an ad-hoc basis.


Working environments in the greenhouses also expose these workers to toxic levels of pesticides. There have been cases of preventable deaths because of a lack of health and safety equipment. And throughout the greenhouses, slum camps have popped up using old polyurethane from old polytunnels. Life in these camps is squalor and dangerous, with more deaths, fires and incidents occurring because of exposed electrical wiring.

Photo credit: Guillem Trius/Al Jazeera

10/12/2019

Artificial soil & desalinized water – Sustaining “Europe’s Greenhouse”:

Inside 90% of Almería’s polytunnels, is used an artificial soil called “Enaronado”. Clay, manure and sand are combined to make this mixture then put on top of the indigenous soil for plants to grow. Under the remaining polytunnels, hydroponic systems are used where chemical fertilizer drip-feed each plant.

In Spain, where water quality is a major factor in land value, the Almería polytunnels have optimized irrigation systems and instituting a desalination system. Each greenhouse requires upward of 1000mm of rain per year, but the region only gets about 200mm. Drip irrigation certainly helps, as does a seawater salination plant that supplies 60,000 cubic meters of freshwater.

Despite some environmental and moral issues (which we cover in other posts), the polytunnel greenhouses of Almería, Spain offer logistical solutions in optimising land and water resources. These could be employed in other regions.

09/12/2019

Ever wonder where many of the peppers, tomatoes and other veg you eat come from? Known as “Europe’s Greenhouse”, the Spanish province of Almería produces most of the continent’s fruits & vegetables – about 3.5 million tonnes each year. Doing so has many consequences on the more than 31,000 hectares (78,000 acres), some expected and some unforeseen.

Recent studies show that this area has lower the average temperatures, while other parts of Spain are seeing above than average temperatures. One possible explanation: the massive amount of white plastic is reflecting sunlight at such a level that it has directly impacted the local climate.

Farmers grow their crops year-round under these cheaply made greenhouses of plastic. There are many difficulties. Farmers are being paid less than ever, Brexit is affecting prices, undocumented migrants are being used more often to cover the gaps, and the use of pesticides without safety equipment has led to unnecessary deaths.

02/12/2019

Working on Barefoot's first issue, out in 2020

25/11/2019