Candidatura Reserva da Biosfera - Santana Madeira Biosfera

where today is the proposed Biosphere Reserve, were fundamental to the economy of the
county and are at present mostly abandoned. The exception is the Achadinha Mill, in the
parish of São Jorge, currently in operation, afetr having been recovered.
Figure 34. Recovered watermill
Another type of agroindustrial structure that assumed particular importance for the
local economy was the sugar mills, where sugarcane was grinded to extract the sugar
and molasses. A large part of sugar mills in the proposed Biosphere Reserve area, which
were built as a result of the revitalization of the sugarcane culture and marketing ocurred
in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, are also in ruins. None of the sugar mills,
now in ruins, was recovered. Of these, the only one that remains in a reasonable state of
repair is located in the village of Arco de São Jorge.
No less important were the water sawmills, which have proliferated since the
beginning of settlement and which were essential for the supply of timber for the entire
archipelago. Today, just one of the water sawmills remains functional after recent
recovery. Located in the parish of São Jorge, this historic building with high historic
value, is the only example in the archipelago. The role of these forest-industrial buildings
was cutting logs to obtain wood planks and beams, assential to the construction industry,
maintenance and repair of houses and barns, but also to till and prepare native woods
Application of Santana, Madeira to Biosphere Reserve – UNESCO - MAB 61