Casa Rural Cortijo Roman

Cork Harvesting in the Mountains around Jimena

Trips from Cortijo Roman to the mountains to see the cork being stripped from the Cork Oak (Quercus suber) can be arranged during the summer months depending on the exact locality of the cork workers in any particular year. The cork harvesting season is from June to September but is very dependent on current weather and the rainfall in the previous winter. The work is carried out by two highly skilled groups of individuals; namely the axe men who strip the cork bark from the trees and the mule men who load the cork onto mules and transport it down the mountain to a site (the cork patio) where it is weighed and stacked ready for transport by lorry.

Cork Patio

Mule and Axe man

Mules arriving at Patio

Stripping a tall cork oak

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