During the Presepe Vivente this week in Barga vecchia (article here and here) one of the many people taking part was once again Giorgio Cella who was there making charcoal using the time honoured method that once upon a time could be seen (and smelt) right through this area.
These days it has practically died out and only a handful of the “old timers” still have any knowledge of just how this tricky and time consuming process was performed.
We published an article earlier this year showing some of the people still working on making charcoal (that article and images can be seen here) – twelve months later Giorgio was there again but this time on his own.
That pervasive and singular smell that comes from the traditional carbonaia – the earth mound kiln this year could not be detected in Barga Vecchia as the wind this year was blowing the smoke and smell away from the city and down towards Fornacetta.
And there was one of the main problems for Giorgio as obtaining and maintaining over the whole period of the burn effective sealing against air, and good circulation, are the main factors limiting the success of a good burn or not. Changing winds and circulation around the mound means uneven burning or holes appearing which have to be covered up straight away to keep the oxygen out of the system. Torrential rain the following morning added to his problems.
Quella della carbonaia era una tecnica molto usata in passato in gran parte del territorio alpino, subalpino e appenninico, per trasformare la legna, preferibilmente di faggio, ma anche di abete, larice, frassino, castagno, cerro, pino e pino mugo, in carbone.
Nonostante questa tecnica abbia subito piccoli cambiamenti nel corso dei secoli, la carbonaia ha sempre mantenuto una forma di montagnola conica, formata da un camino centrale e altri cunicoli di sfogo laterali, usati con lo scopo di regolare il tiraggio dell’aria. Il procedimento di produzione del carbone sfrutta una combustione imperfetta del legno, che avviene in condizioni di scarsa ossigenazione.
This week back in 2001 we published an article which gradually over the years has aquired much more significance as time has move on and memory of certain events and habits fade.
Twelve years ago not many people would have noticed an old plastic fertiliser bag lying on the bench outside Aristodemo’s bar.
It was actually a testament to one of the oldest forms of industry in this area and an interesting insight into the way that modern objects can be incorporated and mutatated by traditional methods.
Charcoal is a light black residue consisting of carbon, and any remaining ash, obtained by removing water and other volatile constituents from animal and vegetation substances. Charcoal is usually produced by slow pyrolysis, the heating of wood or other substances in the absence of oxygen.
The sack contained charcoal brought down from the mountain from one of the last families still making charcoal in this area. A centuries old practice once the mainstay of many families but now only kept alive by a few “old hands”
This sack of charcoal did not change hands for money but was bartered for some of Aristodemo’s famous sheep’s cheese.
Have a close look at the way the sack had been closed. Three sticks are bent and pushed through the plastic to keep everything inside. Simple but effective. This was the traditional method of sealing sacks but it also carried with it another story; a story which involved sleight of hand and false accounting.
The charcoal burners were paid by weight of their sacks of charcoal. They too had a “millers gold thumb” method for making a little extra with their business.
The sacks would be weighed and the weight written on one of the three sticks used for closing the bag, A portion of the bark would be scraped away and figure written on the fresh clean white wood.
The trick was to remove some of the charcoal after it had been weighed and to write another figure on one of the other sticks which showed the now lesser weight.
The stick would be covered up by their hand and the stick with the higher figure would be shown to the tallyman. If they were challenged, the hand would be moved to uncover the real weight and cover up the false one.
Conversation (in Italiano) with Giorgio Cella* about charcoal making in Barga.
* Giorgio has appeared regularly on barganews over the past decade or so …. Giorgio in 1999, 2002 2003 2011