Olka Kossowska

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Deep in the forest of the Bieszczady Mountains in Poland, there live a few charcoal burners that have been part of the panorama of the region for centuries.

Burners pile wood into furnaces, known as ‘retorts,’ to produce the black carbon. It smokes for two days, then cools for another two. Finally, on the fifth day, charcoal is ready to be taken out from the furnace.

When one furnace is burning, another is cooling down. There is no break. In burning bases, there are three to ten furnaces working from January to early autumn.

While working, charcoal burners live alone or together with their colleagues in small huts and caravans in the forest. In addition, they visit their families left home during breaks.

Today there are fewer than 10 such charcoal burning bases with around 40 retorts compared to 50 equipped with more than 600 retorts just over a dozen years ago. The profession is disappearing because of the UE ecological policy and cheaper imports from Ukraine.