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This
trade is being practised by fewer and fewer people and the
young generation is not attracted to it because they consider
it unprofitable. The technique is very old and has been
preserved with such strictness that has become almost a cult.
The type of wood is chosen depending on the destination
of the barrels: oak or white beech for food, mulberry or
acacia for drinks; barrels have different names according
to their capacity. The staves for curved barrels are exclusively
hand-made, tailored to the wood's fibre. The most difficult
operation is the gathering of staves with circles and the
proofing of the barrel with bulrush.
There are some
unwritten rules about a barrel monger's relation with the customers, as
no contract or paper is signed when an order is received.
Mutual understanding is taken for granted. The tools are
old and most of the times a family inheritance. The craftsmen
take very good care of them because they are impossible
to find these days. The names of the tools have a German
touch, which confirms the fact that this craft was brought
here centuries ago by German or Austrian craftsmen. |
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