In the past, cave homes provided low cost housing for the landless farm workers and their families with the added benefit that they maintained a relatively even temperature throughout the year. The temperature inside traditional cave homes (see below) varies no more than 4 or 5 degrees centigrade summer and winter. In addition cave homes were easy to build and extend. The story goes that when the lady of the cave learned that she had become pregnant her first job was to start digging out an extra room in the cave, this, according to legend took about six months - just in time for the new baby.
Sometimes when looking around old cave houses, before they have been restored, you can see a hole through the wall of adjoining rooms, usually about 20 to 30 cms. in diameter and around one meter above floor level. This, the story goes, was an early form of baby alarm, allowing the parents to listen out for their young childrens cries! A more logical explanation is that the holes were put their to increase the air circulation through the cave house.
Nowadays, cave houses are becoming increasing popular among Brits and other foreign nationals for a number of reasons:
- They are relatively cheap to buy compared to conventional houses.
- They are inexpensive to run - they do not need air conditioning in summer and relatively little heating in the winter, one log fire usually being sufficient. If properly finished they require little maintenance. With no external walls to look after and no roof tiles to worry about all that is left is internal painting.
- Cave homes have very low rateable value and therefore the property taxes associated with cave houses can be ridiculously cheap compared with the UK. It is not unusual for a cave home owner to pay under 150 Euros A YEAR for council tax and water combined!
- Each cave home is unique - almost all modern caves houses are 100 or 200 year old caves dwellings that have been restored. Each cave home has a different internal layout and has different features.
- Cave homes are eco friendly, they blend with the landscape and require little energy either for winter heating or summer cooling.
- Cave houses appeal to those looking for a different kind of lifestyle than that found on the coastal strip.
- Cave homes are mainly found on the outskirts of villages and towns, in "real" Spain and not in areas inundated with Brits and holidaymakers.
