€47,000 Restoration Approved for La Laguna's Thresher Monument

For about 15 years, the Thresher Monument has stood under a roof near the roundabout entrance to Tenerife North Airport. It was created by local residents to remember the farming and livestock history of Camino de la Villa and San Lázaro, and to honor everyone who worked the land.

In 2022, residents asked the La Laguna City Council to add the monument to its official list of assets. This was done so the council could maintain it, as it was slowly falling apart. The council now has a plan for its restoration, costing 47,185.95 euros. The Island Council will pay half (23,592.98 euros) through a grant from its 2023–2027 Island Historical Heritage Program, with the City Council covering the other half. This information comes from both administrations.

The monument features an Ajuria 90 thresher from 1950, a millstone, and a stone pillar. On the pillar are a sickle, a vergo, and a scythe – all symbols of farm work.

Adolfo Cordobés, La Laguna's Councillor for Cultural Heritage, calls the monument "one of the most valuable examples of our industrial and cultural history." He noted that it came to its current spot thanks to local residents and the generosity of the Ramos family, and the community has felt a strong connection to it ever since.

He explained that when residents raised concerns about its deterioration, the council took action. They added the monument to the municipal heritage list (as it wasn't there before) and ordered a thorough technical study to ensure a careful, respectful, and lasting restoration.

The councillor thanked the residents for "their watchfulness, their care, and their persistence." He pointed out that they were the ones who pushed for its installation over 15 years ago, warned about its decay, and championed its historical importance.

After the monument was added to the municipal list, the Cultural Heritage Department hired the Tenerife company Cúrcuma in November 2023. Cúrcuma was tasked with carrying out a full study of the monument and creating a plan for its conservation and restoration.

Cúrcuma's study revealed that the monument had been worked on several times before it was officially listed. These past efforts included completely repainting it, possibly because its original colours had faded over time.

However, because of these repainting efforts and the thresher's exposure to the elements, the paint didn't last. A second layer of synthetic paint was then applied, but this also deteriorated. The most recent paint layer clearly shows damage from too much sunlight, humidity, and temperature changes.

As a result, the monument is now in poor condition, mainly due to the weather. The Cultural Heritage department reported that it suffers from moss and plants growing on it, wood-boring insects in its wooden parts, dust buildup, graffiti, cracks from temperature changes, rust on metal parts, damage from earlier repairs, and minor material loss.

This poor state led the council to fence off the monument in June 2025 for safety, following requests from residents. It remains fenced off in its current spot because there isn't a public building large enough to move it to.

From that point, the department asked Cúrcuma to update the cost estimate for the work, which came to 47,185.95 euros, and started looking for funding. They asked the Tenerife Island Council to include the project in its 2023-2027 Island Historical Heritage Program. This request was approved, and the City Council was granted a subsidy of 23,592.98 euros (50% of the cost) with a four-year timeline for completion. This was confirmed in December of last year, 2025.

The local City Council will provide the other 50% of the budget. It will also cover the costs for the technical analysis and the restoration project design, and will manage the hiring and oversight of the work.

The Councillor for Cultural Heritage stressed the importance of "collaboration between institutions." He emphasized that "this cooperation shows that when institutions work together, our heritage becomes stronger."

As for when the work will begin, Adolfo Cordobés explained that "once the municipal budget is finalized, the Cultural Heritage Department will start the technical and administrative steps needed to hire contractors for the work." He added, "The council intends to formalize these arrangements as quickly as possible."

Speaking about the City Council's restoration plan, he emphasized that it "meets the highest standards for industrial heritage." He described it as "a complete restoration focused on strengthening materials, removing damaging elements, bringing back the monument's original meaning, and using compatible, reversible, high-quality treatments."

He also noted that "the restoration isn't the final step. A preventive conservation plan will be created to set guidelines for monitoring, regular maintenance, and controlling factors that cause decay."