The 19th Bread Ecomuseum Threshing Festival

The smell of freshly threshed grain, the rhythmic beat of the flail on the threshing floor and the hands of a whole village working side by side. This is the Mallega del Ecomuseo del Pan (the Bread Ecomuseum’s threshing festival), one of the most heart-warming events of the summer in western Asturias, now celebrating its nineteenth edition. It will take place on Sunday 23 August 2026, from 12:00 noon, in Santa Eufemia (Villanueva de Oscos).

A tradition to be lived, not just watched

The mallega brings back the threshing of wheat and rye just as it was done in the old days: first the traditional way, al malle, with the flail and by hand, and then with the vintage machinery that once revolutionised this work. All of it, as ever, with the collaboration of the local neighbours, who are the true stars of the day.

And the mallega was never just about work. In the households of these valleys, separating the grain from the chaff was a communal task that turned into a celebration: the harvest was the livelihood for the whole year, and bringing it safely in was reason enough to rejoice. Reviving that gesture is also a way of giving thanks to the land and keeping alive the memory of a way of life that shaped Los Oscos for generations.

The Bread Ecomuseum

Few places suit this occasion better than the Bread Ecomuseum in Santa Eufemia, which showcases the entire bread-making cycle: from sowing the cereal to baking, taking in the reaping, threshing, milling and kneading along the way.

The site brings together a sowing plot, a threshing floor (era), a hórreo (traditional raised granary), a mill and the threshing machines, along with an interpretation centre spread across three rooms that walk you through each stage of the process:

• From the land to the threshing floor: sowing and reaping.
• From the threshing floor to the granary: threshing and grain storage.
• From the granary to the table: milling, baking and eating.

Visiting on the day of the mallega lets you watch it all come to life on the threshing floor itself, everything that the rest of the year is explained through panels and tools.

The perfect day out in the heart of Los Oscos

The mallega is also a great excuse to discover Villanueva de Oscos and its surroundings: the Monastery of Santa María, the Ferrería Mayor (great forge) in Santa Eufemia and a network of hiking trails winding through oak woods and stone hamlets in the heart of the Oscos-Eo region. Nature, heritage and living tradition all in a single day.

If you’re after a Sunday that’s different and truly authentic: on 23 August, the threshing floor of Santa Eufemia fills with history once again.