Cork harvest season

as promised in my latest post:
@bigorna1/roof-fully-laid
the peeling of Cork Oaks

Portugal is one of the worlds biggest producer and exporter of natural cork.

some stats:
Portugal has about 33% of cork oak area total worldwide
and produces about 51% of natural cork (about 155.000 tons a year)
over 100.000 hectares were planted between 1993 - 1997
the actual anual rhythm of plantation is about 10.000 hectares

summer is the season when cork is peeled off the trees using the manual use of specially designed axes. real professionals take pride in their work and using technics that pass down in the families / guilds peel the trees without harming the layer below the cork.
open wounds attract insects that can eventually kill the tree.

I have taken this photo with the communication post as reference so you can get an idea of some of these trees.

it is a hard job to do in the heat of our summers, braving the high temperatures and the ants that habit the cork.
newly peeled trees expose this fresh rusty color hidden underneath the cork that once exposed to the elements will gradually get darker.

for comparison, these trees were harvested in 2019.
every harvested tree is marked with white paint marking the year. expert cork peelers can reed the layers in the cork even if the trees are unmarked.
it will take another 9 years before these trees will be ready for a next harvest.

a weight unit called Arroba (about 15Kgs.) is used in the cork sector.
cork professionals come and assess the amounts of arrobas on each tree / whole plantations and the client is paid accordingly, upon agreement in advance for the cork.

in years that the cork prices are low, peelers tend to store the peeled oak, hoping for better future prices.

in this photo you can appreciate the thickness of the cork at the base of the tree. about 5 to 6 cm.

thank you for stopping by 🙏
wishing us all a peaceful Thursday
published at 11:11