Documentation

• 1: Cereal cultivation
• 2: Ciüs
• 3: Al Sborf

1 - Cereal cultivation

Until the middle of the 19th century, cereal cultivation was of great importance in the Calanca Valley. As there were no passable roads in the valley, food was based almost entirely on self-sufficiency. A family needed at least 10 to 15 acres of cereal acreage if they wanted to have 2 to 3 kilograms of their own bread per week.

The necessary land could only be obtained by terracing steep slopes. A huge amount of effort was put into preparing small fields and modest harvests were wrested from the stony soil.

The terracing prevents erosion of the soil. The rock face and terrace walls store heat during the day, which they release after sunset. This delays cooling at night.

2 - Ciüs

We are standing here in front of „Ciüs“, which is surrounded by protective walls. It covers around 10 acres.

The amount of work involved in the creation was enormous. Per square metre of cultivated area on average 1.2 tonnes of stone had to be built into walls, and this was done exclusively with human labour.

Cereal cultivation in the narrow mountain valley is only promising if the microclimatic conditions are favourable. Within the boundaries of the municipality of Cauco, we find particularly ideal conditions in this respect under the rock face above Lasciallo.

3 - Al Sborf

Hardly anywhere else is it more impressive to see how scarce the habitat was in the Calanca Valley 300 years ago and more.

The area with the restored walls documents grain cultivation at the limits of what was possible and the desperate endeavours of earlier generations to somehow secure their food.

The walls, made of rough stones, lean irregularly against large boulders, whose heat reflection and wind protection effect is fully utilised. On the small areas behind the walls and on large rocks, there is only a thin, painstakingly scraped-together layer of soil.

A stone desert made its small contribution to survival!