Las Azudas de Larmahue, en Chile: ingeniosa solución artesanal para capturar el escaso recurso hídrico en tierras de secano

Abstract

Water helps to satisfy the primary needs of the livelihood and is support for all types of landscaping, recreational and economic activities. Since the most remote times, man has tried to tame their flow and remove it from the depths of the Earth. Due to its scarcity, it is important to define strategies for the optimal use of water for irrigation, through those modalities that local farmers have managed to implement by dint of experience and practical wisdom. Proof of this is that the farmers of Larmahue in the Region of O'Higgins (Chile) have built a particular water catchment system based on the use of water wheels (or azudas), able to produce the arid lands of upland. Recognized for its heritage value, these wheels leave their mark on the landscape and give it an identity that transcends Community borders.