What is gentle forestry? “It’s breaking your neck to observe how the trees grow, and starting by choosing the ones you’re going to preserve,” quips Anthony Cheval, looking up at the top of a hornbeam. Coordinator for the Cœur de forêt association, he is scouting in a wood in the town of Tursac, in Dordogne.
With the forest covering almost half of the department's surface area, or 418,000 hectares, there is no shortage of wood resources. On the other hand, the question of its management arises more and more. “Historically, chestnut trees were grown there, which were gradually replaced by plantations of conifers, says Anthony Cheval. But today, these monocultures exploited in clear felling show their limits, with climate change in particular. » They are in fact much more vulnerable to parasites or fires than mixed forests, and less favorable to biodiversity.
“Offer something different”
In Dordogne as in the rest of the country, a large part of the forest belongs to small owners, who only own a few hectares each. The role of Cœur de forêt is to support these individuals, more and more of whom want to move towards sustainable management of their land. At the same time, there is a demand from professionals “who want to know where their wood comes from, how it was produced, and what remains of the forest afterwards”, supports Anthony Cheval. “The problem is the intermediate links in this chain, which must be reconstructed in the region. »
Before cutting a tree, the loggers at the Tursac sawmill anticipate the route of the horse which will be used for logging. / Loïc Mazalrey / Loïc Mazalrey
In Tursac, there is a family sawmill, that of the Agrafeuil family, which closed in 2017 due to lack of demand. A few years later, Jérôme Agrafeuil felt that the tide had turned. “I heard that we couldn't find any more wood, that there was a shortage. I replied that I had a sawmill in the middle of the woods, and that no one did anything with it.” he remembers. The fruit of his meeting with the eco-construction cooperative Coop&Bat, the Au Coin des saweurs association was created in 2022. “The goal was not just to install a new sawyer, but to offer something different,” he insists.
Nourishing a local sector
Now managed by the association, with the support of Agrafeuil, the sawmill was inaugurated at the end of the same year. Several local artisans joined the project, attracted by the principle: acting for a living forest and nourishing a local industry. The wood is sourced in collaboration with Cœur de forêt in order to exploit the forest without degrading it.
First, it is about encouraging a diversity of species. Then, prefer targeted interventions to clear-cutting every ten or fifteen years. “We are looking for a balance between what we can take and what we will leave to allow the forest to continue its natural cycle,” specifies Anthony Cheval. To avoid crushing the soil and the young shoots, it is necessary to make paths and use smaller machines, even horses, to skid, that is to say, transport the felled trunks.
Better quality wood
For sawyers and operators alike, this approach requires adaptation. It is necessary to respect the seasonality of the cuts, in autumn and winter, to build up stocks. You have to work with various species, hardwoods and softwoods: oaks, chestnuts, Douglas pine… And above all, agree to produce little. “But with healthier forests and trees that grow more slowly, we improve the quality of the wood. Thanks to this advantage, we believe it is possible to be profitable,” says Philippe Pétrau, former carpenter, today co-president of the Au Coin des saweurs association.
An operator prepares to cut a log at the Tursac associative sawmill / Loïc Mazalrey / Loïc Mazalrey
In the shed, Jean-Baptiste Schaedele, sawyer, pours a little oil into the cogs of the old machine inherited from the Agrafeuils. “Is there diesel? “, he asks. Half a full. The horizontal blade roars and attacks a two-meter Douglas log, which will provide planks for a Buddhist temple less than four kilometers away. The sawmill mainly produces raw lumber for local craftsmen and individuals: framing, cladding, etc. Some farmers also come to saw their own resources.
A meeting place
But the association strives to promote all the wood extracted from the forest. Offcuts and non-compliant parts are sold at the self-service “wood grocery store” next to the workshop. A luthier uses supplies there to make her violins, and a baker has brought the communal wood-fired oven back to life.
“We also organize group workshops. It has become a meeting place which creates a real local dynamic”welcomes Camille Pétrau, one of the two employees of the association. And for proof: “With all the traffic, the baker set up a bread store at the sawmill, and the market gardener relaunched her vegetable garden a little further down to sell baskets. »
Local communities also recognize the usefulness of the project. A check for €50,000 from the community will be used to purchase a new, more efficient electric saw. Because although the order book is always full, activity is limited by the aging saw. “It breaks down about once a month”sighs Jean-Baptiste. “So far, the project is holding up thanks to the commitment of the team, admits Philippe Pétrau. But the goal is for everyone to be able to get paid. »
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