Los Malejos: Alejo’s farm or the “furthest away”?
There is some controversy over the name of this estate. Some people maintain that it was the most distant estate and the toponym was derived from “Malejo”. Others point to a former owner called Alejo, whose name appears in some writings.
The finca is a clear example of a tenant farmer’s house for the agricultural and livestock exploitation of the high midlands. The owners gave the land to a farming family in exchange for half of the production. The risk fell on the family, whose fate was at the mercy of the weather and a good harvest.
The presence of a threshing floor next to the house tells us about the importance of cereals for food. In addition, fruit was a guarantee of subsistence: milk figs and prickly pears were dried in stone drying sheds and ovens such as this one.
Leave a Reply