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it develops fruits with seeds, the plant dies, but suckers stages, during which this important crop maintained its
survive that grow freely from the base of the stem. character and local identity. Apart from the appearance
of the fields, the difference is that in the World Heritage
Agave is a succulent plant that in addition to its main property in Mexico, agave is used in the process up to the
fruit, which is the "agave pineapple", has been processed final product, whereas in the Žatec hop growing region it
for many purposes. The best known is an alcoholic is partial processing of a crop for onward trading; to this
beverage, which is the basis of Mexico’s World Heritage corresponds the typology of the structures in the towns
property, other parts of the plant were previously used, of both properties.
as a raw material for paper, thick leaves for thatching
rural dwellings, the thorns as needles and pins, even the
root was consumed when properly cooked. V. COFFEE PLANTATIONS
Coffee is a relatively demanding plant, which needs
Until the agave fruit was fully grown and developed, the specific weather for its development with plenty of sunny
plantation areas were also used for growing other crops, days, but also rain. For its optimal development, the coffee
which made contact with the agave closer in terms of tree needs a constant air temperature of around 20 °C.The
repeated encounters over many seasons. ideal environment for it is the band roughly between the
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23 northern and 25 southern parallel across several
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1. AGAVE LANDSCAPE AND ANCIENT INDUSTRIAL continents, which was given the apt name of "the Coffee
FACILITIES OF TEQUILA (WHL) Belt". Coffee is grown in more than 50 countries around
The World Heritage property is a landscape spread the world, with Latin America producing two-thirds of
between the foothills of the Tequila Volcano and the deep the world’s production, with plantations in Colombia,
valley of the Rio Grande River. It is part of an extensive Ecuador, Peru and other countries.
landscape shaped by the culture of the plant used since
the 16 century to produce tequila spirit and for at least The pickers put the ripe coffee berries in baskets by
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2,000 years to make fermented drinks and cloth. Within hand - the beans must not be bruised or otherwise
the landscape are working distilleries reflecting the defective. In this state, the berries are still covered
growth in the international consumption of tequila in the with a pericarp and other layers, all of which must be
19 and 20 centuries. Today, the agave culture is seen separated (A cheaper option is harvesting using picking
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as part of national identity. The area encloses a living, machines, which run along the coffee trees and shake
working landscape of blue agave fields and the urban the branches until the coffee beans fall into waiting 201
settlements of Tequila, Arenal, and Amatitan with large collection baskets).
distilleries where the agave 'pineapple' is fermented
and distilled. The property is also a testimony to the The harvested berries are then sorted and washed and
Teuchitlan cultures which shaped the Tequila area from then have weeds and dirt removed. The washed beans
AD 200-900, notably through the creation of terraces for are left to dry for a long time in the sun or in huge dryers.
agriculture, housing, temples, ceremonial mounds and In order for the beans to dry evenly, it is necessary to
ball courts. turn and rake the coffee thoroughly during drying. After
three weeks of washing, drying and raking, the berries
The agave landscape is similar to the Žatec and the are peeled so that only coffee beans remain, then
Landscape of Saaz Hops property based on the division processed in coffee roasters.
of agave cultivation within the landscape and its
concentrated processing, represented at three important The cultivation and processing of coffee require
towns in the world heritage property. completely different technological approaches
compared to the growing and processing of hop cones.
However, there is a great developmental difference, where Also, the visual appearance of a coffee tree landscape is
the primary processors of agave up to the final drink were quite different.
complexes of rural haciendas, associated with distilleries.
In the middle of the 19 century, with the growth of exports 1. ARCHAEOLOGICAL LANDSCAPE OF THE FIRST
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and trade, large distilleries were established in the towns. COFFEE PLANTATIONS IN THE SOUTH-EAST OF CUBA
This led to the decline of some rural areas in terms of spirits (WHL)
production in rural areas; growers began to concentrate on The first coffee plantations in the south-east of Cuba
the supply of raw materials to the towns, which resulted in are a cultural landscape illustrating colonial coffee
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a rapid increase in land under agave cultivation. After the production from the 19 to the early 20 centuries. It
Mexican Revolution in the third decade of the 20 century, includes not only the architectural and archaeological
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hacienda-related land was reallocated to workers on material evidence of old coffee plantations, but also
a communal basis or was privatized. the infrastructure for irrigation and water management
and a transport network of mountain roads and bridges
Thus, as in hop growing landscapes, the cultivation and connecting the plantations with each other and with
processing of the crop also went through various social coffee export points.