Jarapas are hand woven traditional Spanish rugs that have been created by artisans throughout Eastern Andalucia, especially in the Alpujarra region of the Sierra Nevada mountains of Granada, for centuries. This art is an offshoot of the thriving silk and textile industries of the 10th to 15th centuries in Granada Province and has strong roots in the Moorish textile traditions of Syria and Persia. These unique, brightly coloured rugs continue to be handcrafted on hand looms from recycled cotton, especially in studios and workshops in remote villages of these mountain areas. The high quality fibres used in the production as well as the type of hand loom involved make these rugs both durable and soft. All our rugs are machine washable on a gentle cycle.

It has proven a very interesting experience searching for these rugs. They are now crafted in many villages throughout southern Spain. When we were being shown around Manuel's 'traditional ceramic studio' he showed us his other studio where his family and others were making jarapas in the traditional way. We had seen these beautiful rugs in the Alpujarras and other places, but the variety and quality of these jarapas was exquisite. Manuel quietly mentioned that, in fact, jarapas were his first love and he was especially proud to have played a small part in their historical development. It seems that, although the making of jarapas, using hand looms, is a tradition in the Province of Granada, this tradition was in fact almost extinct by the 1960's. In 1963 the Ministry of Labour gave some classes in which Manuel was an eager student. At the end of the course, he suggested the creation of a textile co-operative to the Director. Luckily, his proposal was accepted, Manuel and his family became members, along with hundreds of other jarapa artisans, and so over the years the hand weaving of jarapas has turned into a thriving cottage industry. Today, Manuel is still involved in this program as a 'mentor'.

We are extremely proud to offer our collection of jarapas, selected personally from Manuel's studio.