Ten years cracking almonds in Son Macià: the story of an ancient machine that unites a village

They are MaciàTen years ago, a group of young farmers from the Manacor village of Son Macià, united to hold Saturday markets and sell their produce, accepted the challenge of getting a 1940s machine working again. A groundbreaking traditional machine that allows members to decide what to do with their produce.

Behind the pharmacy in Son Macià (a Manacor village with just over 800 registered inhabitants) and following the Son Vell road on the left, a square white building that had once been used to dry apricots resonates like a tambourine. It has a small doorway for sacks and a large glass door for people. This year marks the tenth anniversary of this operation. "And for many more," replies Pep Lluís Reche, about to pay for the damage.

He's come from Colonia de Sant Pere with a red van full of sacks of almonds, hoping to let the almond harvesting machines do the work. In total, 15 sacks, from which he'll get 474 kilos of peeled fruit. "At our house, apart from carob trees, we have nearly 300 almond trees planted; the ones that the Regional Ministry of Agriculture subsidized 25 years ago in exchange for removing the old ones," he says with a smile.

Some of these kilos (of the Ferragnas, Ferranwel, and Iguara varieties) will go to the Artà Cooperative, "but another part will be for personal consumption and to give to friends and acquaintances." "You don't know what it's like to arrive at a party or have someone come to dinner at your house and give away a little bag of our almonds," Reche adds as she begins to load up and leave.

It's just after 11 a.m., and this has been the first job of the season at Sa Trencadora, the name the Son Macià Beniulpech Farmers and Craftsmen Association gave to the project a decade ago. "We're very proud of how far we've come; we didn't realize how far we've come when we started in August 2015," recalls Nofre Fullana (Son Macià, 1984, graduate in Environmental Sciences), one of the three current pioneers who, every Saturday until Christmas, are relevant to control the peeling machine, the trench coat. (The other two are Gaspar Alomar and the musician and bookseller Miquel Serra.) "We're very happy, because thanks to these machines, people can decide what they do: it's an exercise in food sovereignty."

Recovering industrial heritage

The crushing machine had been sitting idle since the beginning of the 20th century in a large gate in Porreres. "They offered it to us for free, and we suddenly accepted. Because it fit with our philosophy—the association was founded so young farmers could sell their produce every Saturday in the town square—and because we could thus recover a unique industrial heritage, as well as, in a way, the history of the families who lived there."

The triadora, for its part, was also designed and manufactured in Porreres by Bernat Mesquida. It separates the shell from the twin through a system of sieves and ventilation ducts. This cutting-edge technology arrived in Son Macià in 2013 and required almost two years of restoration to eliminate woodworm and repair mechanisms damaged by disuse.

And even though there's no electronics involved—"wood, iron, and four bolts"—still now, especially at the beginning of the season, constant maintenance is required. "Today, for example, the leather belt on the breaker broke. I was able to fix it to finish the day, but it will have to be replaced and there are no spare parts…" says Fullana. A new, custom-made one will have to be ordered, which will cost 200 euros, an expense that the non-profit association will have to cover.

"We do it to provide a service and because we enjoy it. It's a romantic act. It's not a lucrative business, but fortunately we're still young and our family responsibilities allow us to be there."

Breaking almonds is a service that hadn't existed in the Mallorcan Levante region for more than 30 years. Until the Maciano project came along. "That's why people from all over the island and even from Menorca come here. When they make an appointment (by emailing satrencadora@gmail.com or calling 639 77 12 44), they want to know who's breaking it that day. Everyone wants their own," he laughs.

A scarce offer

Currently, the almond breakers with regular, scheduled hours can be counted on the fingers of one hand. Campanet, Llubí, Porreres, Andratx, Sineu, and Petra have opened irregularly. "With Miquel Ordines from Santa Maria, for example, we do have active contact, and in fact, we're constantly broken," says Fullana.

In any case, the almond processing industry only represents a minor portion of the almonds processed in Mallorca. Most come from cooperatives, including Camp Mallorquí, and Consell, which does the most work.

Sion Mora arrives with her mother from Son Servera: "Although we have the almond trees planted on land between Portocristo and Son Carrió." She carries three sacks, the average carried each year by the 165 members who have paid one euro (plus the cost of the net weight of the fruit) to access the service. In total, the machines have broken and separated the almonds more than 600 times since they've been in the village.

"They are young trees, between 7 and 10 years old, that already produce a good quantity of almonds [their lifespan is usually around 30 years]. That's why we think it shouldn't be lost. This year, I don't know if it's because of the drought, but the harvest hasn't been very successful. "We used to go to Petra, but the owner retired and it was my brother-in-law who told me that they had recovered a breaker in Son Macià."

From the entire process, the members take home the twin and the shell. "With the first one, they usually make turrón for holidays," concludes Fullana, who speaks with admiration of the new clientele: "More and more young families with small children come here, taking the opportunity to go on excursions or have a snack at Son Macià. Or they stay here to tell the kids, who have often helped with the process.

The shell, on the other hand, has different agricultural uses: it can be used to retain soil moisture or to light fires. The leftover dust from the mechanical process is kept by the association, which distributes it among the local farmers to make compost for their crops.

The prices to maintain the service

A sign warns: 'Rocks push machines!' right next to the price list. However, the connection with the members is excellent. "They're proud to come, and so are we. They often ask what we can find among the almonds they've brought, if they look good... 'Be careful not to hit me!' some say, meaning the calf doesn't break."

Prices per kilo vary depending on the quantity:

• From 0 to 30 kg (approximately one or one and a half sacks): €0.30/kg
• From 31 to 90 kg (2 or 3 bags): €0.27/kg
• From 91 to 300 kg (4 to 10 bags): €0.24/kg
• From 301 kg (more than 10 bags): €0.21/kg

Sa Trencadora is open every Saturday, from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., from now until Christmas. It's also open the last Saturday of every month between the beginning of the year and Easter, and on other weekdays by appointment for large almonds (over 300 kilos). Like that eight-hour shift: "Two tons of almonds; it was the largest in 10 years."

Through the small doorway where the scales are, a head peers out. Andreu Servera (over 70, hat, hairy) asks if he can unload. It's already after 12:30 p.m.

"How many sacks are there?"

"Four!"

"Unload them!"