A significant portion of the Province of Segovia lays within a sea of sand, on top of which grows a big mass of pine forest composed of Maritime Pine (Pinus pinaster) and Stone Pine (Pinus pinea).

Within the northern part of this land of Pine Woods, corresponding to the north of the province of Segovia, is the town of Cuéllar, which currently has a significant number of industries devoted to the furniture industry. During the twentieth century it was one of many Spanish towns dedicated to the production of resin, an industry that has been rehabilitated in the twenty-first century.

Although the “rush” of the turpentine/colophony boom is now a mere mirage of the once flourishing resin industry, the importance of this mass of pine is still paramount to the local economy, which employs a good number of professionals in the extraction of natural resins in the area and, in turn, provides good revenue to local municipalities.

These pine forests grow under extreme conditions of soil and climate, with extremely dry and hot summers and freezing cold winters, both factors adding up to the almost permanent hydric stress on the pine trees. Thanks to the methodical and detailed organization and management of these forests, which follow a century old tradition of resin extraction, local communities have been able to not only keep the “resin” flowing during hard economic-market times, but also reinvent themselves to open new market niches, such as the “pallet” and “pellet” industries, alongside with the ecotourism and the ever growing recreational needs of the local population.