Once upon a time, there were also the charcoal burners\u2026<\/p>\n
How did the charcoal burners come to my mind tonight\u2026
\nthe mind is a curious thing\u2026<\/p>\n
I don’t even know if they still deal with charcoal there, in Stavros, Chalkidiki, but I remember “Hephaestus” in front, emphasizing to me throughout the journey that the charcoal of the region is top-grade!!!<\/p>\n
And I couldn’t imagine, as we approached, that I would find myself in another world.
\nThat of the kilns and the charcoal burners.3<\/p>\n
The verses still get mixed up in my ears, those from back then, as Savvopoulos set them to music from Aristophanes’ Acharnians:
\nIn a festive contest, you played your games
\nand did not condescend to the comedic child,
\nbut, now, in the struggle, the charcoal burners win,
\nwho have on their side
\nthe poet himself.<\/p>\n
with these now from the Rodes:
\nOthers come uninvited and leave fatally,
\nsome gather their time and others their money,
\nthe man is lucky that the woman is beautiful
\nbut it is the charcoal burners who make the start.<\/p>\n
Times have changed, needs have changed. For many years, charcoal was the main source for heating. In many places, even for cooking. Lighthouses initially used charcoal, until it was replaced by mineral coal, lignite. We are talking about that era\u2026 <\/p>\n
Setting up the kiln was not a simple matter. It required art and technique, even though charcoal production by villagers was a supplementary job to “top up” the family income, but one person from the kiln crew had to know its secrets well.
\nThe most suitable trees for charcoal are kermes oaks, mastic trees, cedars, olive trees, pine trees, beeches, Judas trees, and wild pear trees.7<\/p>\n
With soot on the shovel, with soot on the bread. Hard, laborious work. To feed the kiln with thin wood or grass. To feed the charcoal burner too. Faces, bodies covered in black. The dust getting everywhere, not just on the body but in the lungs too. And the charcoal had to be correctly measured, to be sold at a good price. <\/p>\n
But as the educated say, “the beginning is half of the whole.” And in the beginning is the kiln.25<\/p>\n
Initially, three large logs are placed to support the kiln, and with these as the center, construction begins, placing small logs close to a meter in length. Build, build, and the kiln will eventually become like a small hill. And if the master is skilled, the kiln can reach three or even four meters. When construction is finished, it is covered with brushwood and then soil. So the kiln cannot breathe. So it does not breathe. <\/p>\n
In the past, charcoal burners mainly came from the islands, Ikaria, Lesbos. Now, briquettes, industrial charcoal, mainly arrive from Asia. Along with cheap charcoal coming from Bulgaria, they have rendered obsolete the few who try to keep alive an art that comes from antiquity. <\/p>\n
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