A network of ditches dug in the Middle Ages has allowed farmers in the hillside hamlet of Letur in southern Spain to grow olive trees, tomatoes and onions in one of Europe’s most arid regions for centuries.
Now the punishing drought that’s spreading across the continent is threatening even this ancient oasis.
The intricate system has reliably kept the village’s land moist and cool through wars, foreign invasions and natural disasters. But the 200 farmers that rely on it are starting to worry for the first time as water levels at many of Spain’s giant dams sink to unprecedented lows, and canals built in the 1970s that turned the surrounding region into an agricultural powerhouse start to run dry.