Proposals

The Foundation’s objective is to continue the process of sustainability of the Salt Valley Cultural Landscape and return to the optimal state that has generally been maintained over the past centuries, employing criteria of sustainability and local and regional development. The Master Plan implemented at the beginning of the 21st century was only the beginning of the valorization of the salt flats, as its ultimate function was to diagnose the problems causing the decline in maintenance and propose the most appropriate way to guarantee a future for the Cultural Landscape and its surroundings.

The work carried out during the three years it took to draft the Plan (2000-2003) demonstrated that the best way to ensure the continued existence of the Valle Salado is to increase its activity and complement it with innovative proposals that guarantee its future maintenance. For this reason, we believe that maintenance work is just as important as planning its management and use.

The proposed future proposals do not focus solely on the salt-producing operation; new areas of action have been planned that are sustainable and compatible with each other. To summarize, these are the main proposals of the Management Plan:

1.- MANAGEMENT BOARD

The sustainable recovery of the Salt Valley, salt production, guided tours, and all future activities carried out in the area required an organizational framework that would unite the efforts and interests of all stakeholders. The Master Plan (2000-2003) proposed the creation of a non-profit institution to develop a sustainable management model. This institution was established in April 2009 under the name “Añana Salt Valley Foundation.” Its patrons include the Provincial Council of Álava, the salt workers (Gatzagak), the Basque Government, and the Salinas de Añana City Council.

2.- SALT PRODUCTION PROPOSAL

One of the main activities proposed as an economic driver for the project is the production of high-quality salt. Given the characteristics of the Salt Valley, the focus of the new salt production is on producing excellent-quality salt, Añana Salt, which competes in the market with salt produced in the world’s finest salt mines.

From an economic and future perspective for the Cultural Landscape, promoting salt production is of great importance. The Añana Salt Valley Foundation, in addition to being responsible for production, is also responsible for creating a brand image that reflects the quality of the salt internationally. To this end, it collaborates on a non-profit basis with some of the world’s best chefs, who endorse the quality of the Salt Valley’s artisanal salt by using it in their restaurants and lending their public image to the project.

Once Añana Salt has reached the level it deserves, the salt industry is proving it has a future. A sustainable future that, based on the salt workers’ know-how developed over thousands of years, will socially and economically regenerate not only the town but also the surrounding region. The viability of the salt industry also guarantees the preservation of the authenticity and integrity of the Salt Valley.

A new era also brings a new approach. Instead of mixing salt with fleur de sel, as salt workers did for centuries, the Foundation has decided to separate the two products. Therefore, two types of salt are produced: mineral salt and fleur de sel. The salt production method is the same one that the Añana salt workers have used for several centuries, with the aforementioned difference of removing the fleur de sel from the surface of the brine before it sinks to the bottom and mixes with the mineral salt.

Construction defects in the waterproofing of the threshing floors cause small saltwater leaks in the wooden framework, which, drop by drop, create salt stalactites called chuzos. This is the third type of salt produced in the Salt Valley. Taste analyses performed by specialists indicate that it is the highest quality salt.

During the summer of 2011, the sale of liquid salt began. This brine comes from the springs and, after resting in the sun in the tank wells, reaches a saline concentration of 280 grams per liter.

The Añana Salt Valley Foundation continues to innovate with a product that is so basic yet essential to humankind. Proof of this is the Premium Collection, which combines mineral salt with spices, olive pieces, or wine, or the Añana Spa & Wellness Collection, which transforms salt that, after being cleaned of small impurities, is no longer for human consumption into bath salts.

3.- ARCHITECTURAL PROPOSAL

The future of the salt mines depends on restoring sustainability and a balanced architectural and productive environment in the Añana Salt Valley. The decision has also been made to rehabilitate several buildings functionally and historically linked to the salt mine to serve as centers for the various activities related to salt production, packaging, and the recreational and educational initiatives that are being developed.

To maintain the valley, it is necessary to continue improving the road network and brine distribution channels. This will make it possible to produce salt in any area and carry out the planned activities.

The unique characteristics of the Salt Valley have led to various approaches to restoring its sustainability. It’s clear that restoring it to become just a wholesale industrial salt factory makes no sense, as it’s unviable to compete in the market with industrial salt mines.

The project’s enhancement must incorporate other incentives, such as tourism, cultural, and leisure activities, which will drive Añana’s recovery and, at the same time, contribute to co-financing the project. Thus, the project’s objectives also include the production of high-quality salt, the creation of historical and educational activities, performances, and tourist and educational visits.

Therefore, the Foundation’s goal is to continue the process of sustainability of the Salt Valley Cultural Landscape and once again reach the optimal—perfect—point that has generally been maintained over past centuries. The tools to achieve this are the salt workers’ expertise developed over millennia and the recovery of the sustainability lost with the introduction of new construction techniques in the 20th century, which altered its fragile ecological and sustainable balance.

As seen throughout the project, the Salt Valley itself determines the number of salt pans in operation. Therefore, the Management Plan itself is flexible in this regard, as the continuous process of adaptation, innovation, and change it has undergone throughout its history can introduce modifications that allow this number to fluctuate according to needs and possibilities, provided that the principles of the salt-making philosophy and, in particular, the sustainability criteria that will maintain the authenticity and integrity of the property are maintained.

4.- PROJECT OPEN TO SOCIETY

From the very beginning, we were aware that this ambitious project had to be open to the public. Converting part of the salt flats into a tourist and educational site requires prior development.

The first activities were aimed at restoring the maintenance of the old salt-making roads, allowing visitors to observe the work being carried out.

Some buildings historically associated with the activity—such as the old salt warehouses—have also been renovated to become the Visitor Center, a place for displaying and selling products, or to develop educational activities related to the salt production cycle, the diapir, etc.

5.- INTERNATIONALIZATION OF THE PROJECT

Given that the Añana Salt Valley is a unique Cultural Landscape, it must be valued not only for the surrounding society but for all of humanity. We have designed a strategic internationalization plan, including the proposal for inscription on the UNESCO World Heritage List and European support within the INTERREG IIIb program “Artisanal Saltworks of the Atlantic Arc.”

This project aims to consolidate an international network for the exchange of information and experiences. This will foster socioeconomic development based on tourism, leisure activities, and the supply of products and services linked to the area.

6.- ENVIRONMENTAL PROPOSAL

All the activities being considered under the Management Plan are subject to the added value and constraint of the valley’s inclusion on the Ramsar List of Wetlands of International Importance.

The Plan also explores the potential that this protection approach can bring and, at the same time, seeks to combine them in coordination with those derived from other possible approaches intended to frame the restoration of the sustainability of the Salado Valley Cultural Landscape. It combines extraordinary conditions to demonstrate didactically that the anthropization process that the entire habitat has suffered is not harmful, and that its study and understanding can lead to guidelines for its consistent conservation.

7.- HISTORICAL AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL PROPOSAL

The Cultural Landscape has emerged as a hub for knowledge of our past, which, despite the vast amount of research conducted, has enormous potential yet to be discovered. Considering that maintenance work will be carried out on both the architecture of the salt mines and their subsoil during the implementation of the Management Plan proposals, different levels of intervention protocols have been created, taking into account the historical and constructive value of each of the areas and elements. In this way, cultural assets are added to the process of enhancing the activity, significantly increasing its appeal, as citizens are present and actively participate in both the generation of knowledge and its dissemination.

In order to preserve the historical and constructive memory of the salt mines and show visitors their evolution, some areas of the salt mine are being renovated using the construction techniques typical of the different forms of salt production that we have been able to document during the archaeological study.

8.- FUNCTIONAL PROPOSAL AND OTHER USES

The diverse needs of today’s society in fields as diverse as tourism, culture, leisure, and gastronomy are some of the factors that drive the Salt Valley to become something more than just a salt factory. Thus, in the Management Plan, we propose a whole series of activities that will meet all these requirements while, organized around a common goal, mutually reinforcing each other.

The work carried out during the Master Plan demonstrated that the best way to strengthen the Salt Valley is to revive its activity and complement it with innovative proposals. The Foundation is fully aware that the Salt Valley is a multi-experience product with first-rate cultural, natural, gastronomic, and heritage attributes. Therefore, from its inception, it has sought to develop diverse initiatives and infrastructure, with the strategic objective of adapting the salt flats to new demands and providing end-users with comprehensive, unique, and unforgettable experiences that will ensure a future for the Salt Valley Cultural Landscape and its surroundings.

An example of this is the holding of artistic performances in the Valle Salado complex. For this purpose, there is a fully reversible wooden grandstand placed on the threshing floors, with a small esplanade in front of it for small performances. There is also the possibility of the entire Valle Salado being transformed into a large open-air stage. This is what happens with the light and sound show held the second weekend of July, with the participation of a large portion of the residents of Salinas de Añana.

9.- PROPOSAL FOR ACTIONS RELATED TO HEALTH TOURISM

The health benefits of controlled contact with salt water have been proven since ancient times. The salt workers of the Añana River were fully aware of this because they often bathed in the wells. Thanks to collaborative work with the local community, the Management Plan identified the need to introduce a series of action proposals in this area. In the Salt Valley, we have the ideal raw material: brine, which emerges directly from the springs with a high degree of salinity, and salt-producing areas that can accommodate these proposals without altering their universal value.

The lines of action are not only focused on the development of spaces for use and enjoyment, such as the salt spa, with a hand bath, foot bath, and flotarium, but also on beauty treatments and cosmetic products related to salt and brine.