FRENCH ECO-MUSEUM

                                              Les Landes 

In the early afternoon after biking to Sabres, France we boarded a train for a short ride to Les Landes, an eco-museum. The railroad, built originally to transport logs from the pine forest, has been in operation since 1887. Napoleon gave permission to plant the sandy area with pine trees for erosion control, and it became the largest pine forest in Europe.

As the train rolled along I couldn’t help but notice the many trees that were tapped. The pitch was collected, refined and sent to factories to be used in turpentine, resins, cosmetics, pharmacy and paint cleaners.

The docent meeting our train was quick to tell us, “This museum was established in 1970 and covers an area of 10,000 square kilometers. The L’esgunmas River runs through this land mass.”
            She toured us around the home site area explaining each house. The long steep roofs  to the west to protected the homes from wind and storms. At one she noted, “Notice that the beds are high off the ground and are rather short. Years ago people here slept sitting up as they were very superstitious and believed that lying down was the position for the dead.”

I was surprised to see well established grass growing in the sandy soil. Over hearing my surprise she added, “Sheep were and still are grazed in this area. Their droppings provided good fertilizer which promoted the grass growth. In the fields beyond the fence rye and corn are grown as alternate crops.”

Entrance to Les Landes

It was fun to see real maypoles, and since my visit was the right time of year, I saw many of them on the trip. They are planted on May 1 and remain in place for a month. Friends do the planting at night for newlyweds, anniversary couples, birthdays or any other occasion they can think of. The poles are decorated with all sorts of things—bright colored paper, flowers or whatever the imagination conjures forth. If the recipient should wake and learn who is erecting his maypole, tradition dictates that he must have all the ‘planters’ to dinner.

The museum sheds  light into the  daily farming and shepherding life. Shepherd farmers abandoned their flocks when the area was planted in pine trees and became woodmen and resin tappers.

It was an interesting visit where I saw a couple of new things and was particularly drawn to the fresh baked bread coming out of the community oven!