Commons, Technical Change and the Market: The Butter Industry in the León Mountain Qrea (1857--1936)

Abstract

"The turning point in butter production in the province of León came about when the Sierra Pambley School was set up in Villablino in 1886 and the first Spanish butter cooperative was created there in 1896. The existence of dairy cows breeds and large areas of common grazing land and traditional forms of collective organisation enabled farmers to take better advantage of the work of institutions which fomented cooperativism and improvements in technical procedures, and of a market which was demanding more and more dairy products. That is, of the many factors which led to the rise of the butter industry, we must highlight the fact that we are dealing with an endogenous development process, based on local cattle breeds, traditional knowledge and forms of collective organisation."