In the pre-Pyrenean mountains, oak and holm oak forests are very abundant, which in past times led to the development of an activity linked to these forest masses: charcoal. Although it could be said that in all the houses of El Frago a specialist in cooking charcoal has lived, the availability and collaboration of Hilario Artigas, an expert charcoal maker and neighbor of the bordering town of Aguero, has been decisive in the recovery of this old trade for the museum territory. . In 1999 Hilario has resumed his spirit and vocation as a charcoal maker, an occupation in which he began at the age of 12 with his father. As has always been done, the entry of autumn indicates the best dates for cutting the wood. .-From October 1st to March 31st.- A few decades ago the ax was displaced by the chainsaw in the tasks of cutting firewood, as well as that to work it has also been necessary to previously sharpen its cut. In the past, the work of the charcoal burner began with the acquisition of the forest for its exploitation, either by auction or by agreement with the owner, who was normally a municipality. Hilario is in charge of cutting down with the chainsaw those specimens that have been authorized by their state. Eugenio and Miguel chop the branches into pieces of approximately one and a half meters, which is the ideal measure to assemble the bunkers and stack them on the side of the road to collect them later with the tractor. In the open mountains the charcoal burners had little difficulty in transporting the wood to the firing point that was normally nearby, however in the steepest areas crossed by ravines the effort sometimes made this work unfeasible . On this occasion to carry the logs to the neighboring town of El Frago, the Artigas family uses the tractor with the trailer. For the firewood to cook in optimal conditions when it becomes charcoal, it must be drying for at least three months. At the beginning of spring, Hilario prepares to cook charcoal with all the firewood he has prepared. From May to October are the best dates to manufacture this vegetable fuel that had so many uses in other times. The production of coal begins by making the square, which consists of cleaning with the hoe the place where the head is going to stop. Surrounding a central pole that will serve as a guide, the chickadee plucks the herbs and levels the ground. .-Preparing the head site to put it. Apart from that they would get in the way, prepare the site a bit, which is a bit uneven.- Hilario has stacked in a circle about ten thousand kilos of firewood to facilitate the assembly of the bunker or head, as it is called by these lands. Chickadees have always collected in their environment all the material they needed. When the square is ready, Miguel cuts some gorse that will occupy the center of the head . -Well, put the first thing, a gorse, so that the branches that we are going to put next will light better , so that later he can light the firewood well from the head.- If the combustion process proceeds normally, the 10,000 kilos of firewood to be stacked will be reduced to a third of charcoal. .-From 33 to 35 percent, in the past we did it from 33 to 35, it depends on the conditions of the firewood, the driest, greener, less green.- On the pile of fine and dry twigs, Hilario begins to stop the It is possible that it consists of stacking the firewood in an orderly and vertically . -Well, at the beginning you put the firewood, the first thin firewood so that it burns better. This stick is the guide, which is put here, that we tell the mayor. If firewood is put in forever, control the center of the head where the mayor rises.- Around the mayor, this veteran charcoal burner proceeds to stack the fine firewood first, respecting a hole that connects the center of the head with the outside at ground level. . .-The hole where you have to set fire to the cabera.- Instead of using the logs had already cut last fall to a meter and a half in length and have been ideal to advance in this process stop It is possible, Hilario is going to take advantage of the shorter wood that he had prepared to make a fire in the hearth. After stacking the thin logs in the center, the body of the head is built with the thickest, in all this work Hilario keeps the hole to the outside to light the head with the correct orientation depending on the prevailing winds in the area. . -Well, normally, sun-face at ten in the direction of the air in Guara because if you do it in a north direction, as it is something that is already a little short, it breathes the air normally in this land the air is windy and it is bad you put it every Sun at 10 o'clock, so there is no wind on that side so that you can move ahead more or less there is always some breath left on the side that gives you the fire.- The wood blocks must fit well with each other, leaving the minimum space gap between them. .-As tightly as possible, the less gap remains the coal, less is consumed, better quality and more quantity.- Little by little and without stopping in their task Hilario and Miguel come to increase the volume of the head on this day. To facilitate the cooking of the firewood on the fat logs that occupy the central part of the pile, Hilario again stacks thin branches around its perimeter . -To cover the firewood so that there are fewer holes and then these small pieces are cooked easier to cover the fat so they cook better.- When Hilario has finished stopping the head, he can calculate approximately the kilos of coal that can be obtained. .-Well, you measure the feet you have to know approximately the kilos of coal that can come out in the head, because, from the experience of other heads, so many feet have been made so many kilos or arrobas.-.- 52 feet ,. Chaired by the mayor, who has served throughout the process to maintain the symmetry of the head, the firewood has been ready for cooking. But to cook the firewood it is necessary to close the head. Hilario and his son Eugenio, as always, resort to everything that the environment offers them. The branches and leaves of the boxwoods are the most appropriate to enramillo the charcoal burner. Enramillar consists of covering all the firewood with a layer of thin leaves that prevent the earth from seeping between the logs. .- So that the earth does not sneak in. With the branch, with the leaf, the earth is better supported, it does not filter between the pieces and then the coal comes out better .- .- A coal that rubs with the earth does not cook well, therefore it is not necessary to let it rub against the earth.- A short break to take a bite and the corresponding cigarette makes this task more bearable, although it does not require much effort if it is slow and patient. To fence the headlands, the charcoal burners also used the litter from the holm oaks or the pines if this plant matter was predominant in the area. At noon the head is already railed and ready to be buried. Closing the head consists of covering the wood with a layer of fine earth that these charcoal burners collect with a hoe. The qualities and the degree of humidity of the earth will significantly influence the quality of the charcoal obtained at the end of the process. .-This is a bit strong but for good it had to be black earth that we say in Agüero and El Frago but we are going is quite good.- But the most important thing on earth is that it does not carry stones. .-If it can be, none because the stone breathes when it makes the hole and whenever it breathes where it is not ordered it is consumed, the firewood is consumed and no charcoal, ash is made.- The transport to the head is done with the baskets, receptacles wicker simultaneously, enabling fixation uniform land in maintaining the ideal thickness surface between 10 and 12 centimeters as Hilary and Eugenio advance with the roof placed stones and logs serve as ladder To access the upper part to land the heads, some charcoal burners mixed the freshly minced earth with a little serayo, it was the grit that remained in the square after cooking other charcoal pits. With the last rays of light in the afternoon, the head is completely closed and ready for firing, the upper crown remains uncovered to facilitate firing during combustion. .-These heads as we left it on the roof in spring and set fire to it in the month of September so that in this way the firewood does not break, since it is buried without light , everything is closed above, you put a brush and a slab on top . Sometimes the work of the harvest or the garden in the summer months forced the charcoal makers to wait a less work time to light the charcoal, since once the cooking process had begun , they had to attend to it day and night, leaving the others chores. But this is not the case the next day Hilario lights the head by introducing bunches of firewood to the center once the flames reach the gorse and dry twigs that occupy the heart of the head, this will ignite, initiating combustion or charring, normally the Charcoal burners were lit at dawn in order to have the whole day to deal with the possible setbacks that arose in the first hours of cooking when the twig in the center has ignited and the fire begins to pull up, it is time to cover the hole in the base and control the movement of the flame inside. .-The head starts to ignite and made too much smoke from the top is that it is well lit and then you have to administer it and open it, then you will see it, some fumes from above .- .- Or open a cat flap on this side, because like the air followed followed that it gets on that side, then it takes the fire to one side, so that it comes to fire to this side here simply so that the fire comes to this side of here that later this will cover it but for now make it breath to this side for fire to come.- As the coal bunker has the draft in the upper part, the fire will rise slowly until it reaches the mouth, from this moment the work of the charcoal burner is reduced only to attending to the fire to control it and lead it to its Will. But this part of the process is the most important and the one that requires the most experience in order not to spoil all the work done.This extreme control of combustion that will last about a week forces Hilario to build a shack with the appropriate dimensions to remain day. and night in front of the headland while the controlled fire works inside the headland, these artisans continue to assemble the entire skeleton of the shack but without ceasing to attend to the fumes that the combustion gives off and which are the indicators of the process on the boxwood branches. Hilario neatly places the pieces of earth that will form the walls of the shack in the shape of scales . The tilted position of the logs facilitates resistance of the wood structure to the weight of this thick layer of soil Shanty saithe must have the minimum amenities that allow warm you in the winter and endure unpleasant rainy days stone slabs and clay are the only materials that the charcoal burners needed to build this small kitchen in their temporary cabin. . -It is well settled there.- The shape of the coal shacks varied from one area to another but the technique was always the same, imitating a coal pit. The shack is finished and tonight Hilario will be able to inhabit it. When the charcoal burner is already well lit, the upper opening must be covered, with grass first and earth later to better control the fire, since from this moment there is the possibility that the firewood will burn instead of cooking as the charcoal makers say. .- A hole has been made.- .- What I tell you, the fire is coming this way.- The risk is always present, especially when uncontrolled holes are made through which the coal bunker would breathe burning the wood. .-Sometimes eddies that are made inside and a hole is made.- The knowledge of the good charcoal burner lies in knowing how to conduct the fire through the interior of the bunker during combustion according to what interests him at all times and counteracting the prevailing winds for it, Hilario It uses the chimneys, which are holes that allow to regulate the orientation and the amount of air that enters the head, in addition the smoke that comes out through the chimneys indicates the state of cooking to the charcoal burner. .-That there should never be an ember or flame or blue smoke, the blue smoke is that the coal is wasting .- .- Not only the firewood, but the charcoal made, is being spent when the blue smoke comes out in a humera.- These first hours of cooking are those that require the most attention from the charcoal burner until the fire stabilizes and is controlled. It is normal for a hole to open from time to time and have to be covered quickly. .-For up making coal the center's Cabera up and when he gets up there to discover and then reload firewood to start to cook up and down then in the heart of the Cabora has not been cooked more than the heart of Cabora but then when it reaches the top, you have to cover it tightly, put it tight and the wood lasts , well then it spreads the fire throughout and slowly descends until it ends at the bottom.- The next day after 24 hours of cooking the fire in the head is perfectly controlled and the color of the smoke is proof of the excellent development of combustion. .-So that the fire does not go away due to the firewood from outside and it remains uncooked inside.- But hilario never forgets that the coal bunker is burning and that the fire that has already reached the part must be attended to. bottom . -As it cooks, the earth sinks inwards.- As the fire goes down the upper part of the head remains hollow and our friend Hilario must press the earth and cover the holes that have been produced. Our friend the charcoal burner continues to control the evolution of the fire inside the headland and observes that it must be "broken". .-Well, a vacuum is created when it is given fire and the fire reaches the top, because it goes up through the center and a vacuum is made and it is necessary to fill it with firewood so that the head begins to cook then from top to bottom, and the vacuum , There can be no hole inside the head because if there is a hole it consumes, and it gets holes without stopping it has to be all well filled.- Feeding the coal bunker or making "renchidura" as the charcoal burners of this area say consists of throwing logs in the inside of the mouth to feed the fire, thus preventing the flame from passing to the rest of the charcoal burner, consuming the firewood. For a good product to come out, the chickadee must maintain a very slow combustion and try to avoid the negative influence of the winds. .-The best thing that does not make air or that it is air that one time comes the other time from another but always soft.- To conserve the heat inside the hut Hilario builds a door with crossed boxwood branches and tied together with such that they fit perfectly in the gap you have left to enter and exit. With the last rays of afternoon light, the charcoal burner continues to cook at a normal rate. The fire has been controlled at all times while Hilario was building the shack. Covering holes, giving "crack" and orienting the chimneys have been the main attentions so far. But when night comes the chickadee cannot rest, the head needs specific care that if not attended to at the moment could spoil part of the work done. .-At night, it is little, but you have to be aware because a small hole is made, which is very easy, because if every hour, hour and a half, you get up, a small hole does not happen at all, but you cannot take You never count, I am going to sleep four hours, that the small hole may be made at the time you have taken yourself, but if it takes two hours then a very large hole is made and the coal burns.- To regulate the Fire, Hilario, lowers the chimneys as the blue smoke begins to come out, indicating that the charcoal has already been cooked in that area. These momentary attentions will prevent you from enjoying the rest you deserve. The days and nights of vigil pass, of constant presence at the head, of communication with the fire and smoke, which with their color and viscosity inform the charcoal burner of the state of cooking. Taking advantage of the obligatory waiting time and care during the combustion, hilarious takes advantage of it to pile up enough firewood with which it will prepare another coal bunker to light it on another occasion. For now, day after day, time is passing and the chimneys are getting closer to the ground, which indicates that the process is nearing its end. It has been a week of intense activity for Hilario, who despite his physical strength reflects on his face the fatigue of so many nights of bad sleep. At dawn on the eighth day, Hilario proceeds to catch a cold on the head and remove the charcoal in layers, starting little by little at the bottom. .-If you have to remove a lot from time to time then it burns you have to remove and cover quickly.- The pieces of firewood that have been in contact with the ground come out without burning. These pieces are called chalks and they will be cooked in a smaller charcoal kiln called recocho. However, well-cooked firewood has a characteristic sound and color. -Inside being black, it has to have a white shine and other times it comes out bright colors also when it comes out good, as if it were a rainbow, with bright colors.- To cool the head and extract the charcoal, Hilario uses the hoe the rake , the hook and the shovel. Fortunately today the peaceful day has come out, if it were very windy the chickadee would have to quickly close the openings to remove the coal as the head could be lit. The coal comes out hot and many times it has a point of fire inside that ignites it when it comes into contact with the air. That is why the chickadee, as the coal is removed, leaves it extended around the head, forming a ring to be able to control it and quickly extinguish it with sawdust or water. .-It depended a lot on where the water was brought, because if it was very far away sometimes with sawdust.- The sawdust is the earth that has enveloped the charcoal during all the cooking and that while it cools it is straining between the coal turning off the fire. .- And this land like this with the heat that the coal carries, that land that seems to be burning.- When the coal has already cooled down and does not run the risk of igniting Hilario picks it up with the wicker baskets to stack it in a corner from the square and bag it when the time comes. At midmorning Eugenio, Miguel and Antonio, have come to help him remove the coal to advance in this task and try to open the heart of the head at the end of the afternoon. In the flourishing times of this activity, all members of the family, including children , were involved in collecting and storing charcoal. While the charcoal burner opened his head to remove the black gold resulting from his effort, his family members selected it and collected those pieces that had cooled, piling up the pieces on another side of the square to cook them later in the cliff. With the help of his family, Hilario has been able to reach the center of the head where his heart is turned into ashes as a result of the burning of the logs that were thrown for the "splinters". .-With knots more carbon fits and then sewn so that it cannot fall on the road.- To transport the charcoal, it was packed in burlap sacks or in special serones that the buyers themselves brought to the point of manufacture. they closed by sewing their mouths with a rope. The time has come to open the heart of the head. Hilario quickly spreads the mixture on the ground. of ashes and coal to take advantage of the pieces that have not yet been burned. The product resulting from many days of work is spread over the square. Between the tools and in the presence of the shack and the next bunker. Starting in the 1960s, with the introduction of butane in kitchens and petroleum derivatives in industry, that millenary use of charcoal, which among other things was used to obtain iron and work it in forges, plummeted. Today, thanks to the will of Hilario Artigas and his family, in the town of El Frago, as a tribute to those charcoal burners who kept the oak and holm oak forests clean and accessible, this old trade will be perpetuated in the future museum territory.
