 |
| Dried Peat Blocks |
Knife-sharp cuts stand out
in the peat bogs where the island people have harvested this year’s fuel
supply. Many Hebridians still heat their homes with peat and use it in cooking.
From March to mid-June, slicing into the bogs and removing square chunks is a
family affair. We saw rows of bricks laid out to dry in the peatbogs and
herringbone-stacked piles in the backyards of most houses. When dried, the blocks are hard as coal. At the Hebridian
Smokehouse—one of North Uist’s biggest employers with 14 full-time
employees—the manager told us that the peat used in smoking the salmon is
gathered by the workers as they collect their own personal supply. Peat “grows”
at only one millimeter per year, but the bogs stretch for miles and seem to
hold the promise of fuel for years and years to come.
 |
| Peat Bog, Peat Cutting and Peat Blocks Left to Dry |
No comments:
Post a Comment