Читать книгу Walking in the Cevennes. 31 walks and the Tour of Mont Lozere онлайн

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Until the end of the 19th century the cultivated chestnut trees were the main source of food for the Cevenese population. The nut, the wood, the leaves – every part of the tree was utilised. The nuts, collected in the autumn by special wooden rakes called gratto, were eaten fresh or dried and also ground into flour to make bread. The drying process took place in a stone building called a clède, which was built next to the mas (farm) or in the chestnut wood itself. The chestnuts were funnelled in from the outside and spread on a wooden grating hung underneath the beams. A fire was lit underneath and kept going for several weeks until the constant smoke had dried the nuts. They were then shelled, which was achieved by walking on them with special spiked shoes! The wood was used for building and for making furniture, beer barrels and fencing – even the traditional Cevenol beehives are made out of chestnut trunks. At the end of the harvest the flocks of sheep, goats and pigs grazed in the woods to fatten up on the leaves and remaining nuts.