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Harvesting Cork in Provence { 10 images } Created 7 Jan 2011

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  • A worker picks up his axe ready to start work at 6 o'clock in the morning. Cork harvesting only takes place during the summer; the heat causes the sap to rise between  the bark and the trunk making the cork easier to harvest.
    GAA_cork_001.jpg
  • The traditional techniques are endangered because of the lack of interest from the youth. These workers come every summers from Sardinia for the harvest season..
    GAA_cork_002.jpg
  • It takes 12 years for the bark to be thick enough to be made into a cork stopper. Because of that, the harvesters follow an ancient division of the hills, making sure they only visit each tree every 12 years...
    GAA_cork_003.jpg
  • Harvesting cork requires expertise and strength as the workers need to be able to read the thickness of the bark, and hit with precision so they don't harm the trunk. The techniques are passed on from fathers to sons for generations....
    GAA_cork_004.jpg
  • When the bark is riped off, it creaks and squeaks, leaving the naked trunk humid and red as blood.
    GAA_cork_008.jpg
  • The traditional techniques almost disappeared because of the emergence of plastic composed stoppers as well as the continuous forest fires that destroyed the ancient forests of the south of France years after years. .Fortunately the cork industry regained strength a few years ago as the qualities of cork were recognised again....
    GAA_cork_005.jpg
  • A worker wipes his eyes after hiting an ants nest. It is common for ants to built nest inside the bark. When a worker hits a nest it explodes in his face.
    GAA_cork_006.jpg
  • The bark is carried to pre-defined points around the hills, where it will later be pick up by truck. It is then brought to the factories to be dried.
    GAA_cork_009.jpg
  • The harvest takes place between 6 am and 4 pm with a lunch break once the temperature is too high. The workers eat on the spot. In the old days they would eat cheese or ham on bread and drink red wine; they still drink wine everyday but their meal are more various.
    GAA_cork_007.jpg
  • It takes about a years to naturally dry the cork. Before being cut into stoppers it will be boiled, flatten and then dried again. The left overs will be grinded and recomposed  to make pin boards, floors or shoe soles.
    GAA_cork_010.jpg