Le Portugal fournit 80% du liège mondial. Ce matériau, utilisé pour les bouchons mais aussi pour l’isolation, est prisé pour sa remarquable résistance au feu.
Le liège est l’écorce du chêne-liège. Pour préserver l’arbre, cette écorce ne peut-être prélévée qu’au minimum tous les 8 ans.
Traditionnellement, la récolte se fait entre mai et juillet (saison idéale permettant de récolter le liège sans trop d’humidité).
Texte et photos : Ludovic Vauthier - Reportage complet sur demande
Two Portuguese workers harvest cork oak bark using traditional hatchets near Termas de Sulfuera, Portugal. This ancestral method preserves the tree, allowing it to regenerate its bark every 9 to 12 years, and forms the basis of sustainable cork production in the Mediterranean region.
Cork oak harvesters in action near Termas de Sulfuera, Portugal. Using axes and hand tools, they carefully strip the bark without damaging the trees, in one of the last regions in Europe where this traditional practice is still performed manually.
Cork oak harvester in action near Termas de Sulfuera, Portugal. Using axes and hand tools, they carefully strip the bark without damaging the trees, in one of the last regions in Europe where this traditional practice is still performed manually.
Cork oak harvester in action near Termas de Sulfuera, Portugal. Using axes and hand tools, they carefully strip the bark without damaging the trees, in one of the last regions in Europe where this traditional practice is still performed manually.
Cork oak harvesters in action near Termas de Sulfuera, Portugal. Using axes and hand tools, they carefully strip the bark without damaging the trees, in one of the last regions in Europe where this traditional practice is still performed manually.
Cork oak harvester in action near Termas de Sulfuera, Portugal. Using axes and hand tools, they carefully strip the bark without damaging the trees, in one of the last regions in Europe where this traditional practice is still performed manually.
Cork oak harvester in action near Termas de Sulfuera, Portugal. Using axes and hand tools, they carefully strip the bark without damaging the trees, in one of the last regions in Europe where this traditional practice is still performed manually.
Cork oak harvesters in action near Termas de Sulfuera, Portugal. Using axes and hand tools, they carefully strip the bark without damaging the trees, in one of the last regions in Europe where this traditional practice is still performed manually.
