Prénovel combes - 83 Green

5 points of interest

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  Know-how

  Wood and peat

  Whilst the forest has always been exploited in the region, fluctuations in the economic and social situation throughout history have shaped the landscape, alternating between thick forests and vast cultivated expanses. 
  As from the 17th century and up until the 20th century, an increase in forest exploitation (with wood serving as fuel for economic activities such as blacksmiths) led peasants to use peat as fuel for their domestic use.

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  History & Heritage

  The crown of the low walls

  The capping on the low dry-stone walls, or crown, maintains and stabilises the sides (visible parts) of the wall. Without it, the stones, and particularly those at the top, would end up falling. Here, you can observe a technique in which large and relatively flat stones, called lauzes, are laid vertically and often stabilised by spacers in between.

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  History & Heritage

  Wood-turning workshops

  More than a place of work or a rudimentary shelter for craftsmen, for those who occupied it, the workshop is a setting that is both intimate and public.
  Between the tools used, on the worktops where sawdust is pushed away with the palm of a hand, is where craftsmen build their know-how, by the light shed by the large dusty windows.

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  Natural environments

  The Nanchez peat bog

  Peat bogs are characterised by a surface that is constantly water-logged, where peat forms and accumulates: it is a type of bedding made-up of dead vegetation which has badly decomposed due to the absence of oxygen. Life conditions are demanding in these environments and this means that the species that live here must adapt to the omnipresence of water, to a relatively cold climate and to the chemical composition of the soil.

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  History & Heritage

  The evolution of life and buildings

  The rural house was first the one belonging to the farmer and livestock breed, where men and animals lived together. As from the 18th century, cheese specialisation and the pooling of milk in cooperative structures - “fruitières” - brought farmers out of a self-subsistence economy. In terms of buildings, the farm became bigger: a storey is added to include bedrooms, a second stable is sometimes built to accommodate more animals.