Husbandy and Processing of Thatching Materials, with Pierre Rizzo
Pierre Rizzo joined Rumpelstiltskin in January 2007. He had lived and worked in London most of his life, and was looking for a complete change of direction.
“When I first came to Oxfordshire it was clear that my life was about to change. For a start, my new home is a narrow boat on the Oxford canal. I get woken up by song birds and the occasional cheeky swan knocking on my window for bread, instead of Police sirens and traffic noise.”
Pierre is not training to be a thatcher, but is learning about the husbandry and processing of thatching materials. For the first year, that meant many hours working from our barns pulling long straw yealms from beds of heaped, wetted straw. This is repetitive work, but it is essential that this process is mastered for the roof to work properly and look good.
“I really enjoyed the challenge of learning a new set of skills, but it took a good few weeks before I could process the straw at the rate the thatchers use it. Even though I don’t fix straw to the roof it’s great to see the finished roof and know that every bit of straw has been through my hands.”
Pierre started to develop further skills through the last year, starting with the straw harvest. He lead the team of ‘stookers’ standing the cut crop to finish ripening, and played a pivotal part in bringing in the harvest from the field. He has also been heading up the new hazel coppicing program which started in January 2010.
“The straw harvest was really hard work, and very different from any thing I had done before. There is a very satisfying feeling when I helped make all the straw that I now use to make the yealms for the thatchers. The thing that I was really looking forward to was getting my chainsaw certificate and working in the woods. My course was quite a challenge, but I am now fully qualified to fell any trees up to 14inches. I had never seen a hazel coppice before starting with Rumpelstiltskin, but now I can look at even the most overgrown hazel stools and see where all the useful rods are.”
Pierre was shocked to learn that a great deal of the hazel used in the thatching industry is imported from Eastern Europe, and is hoping that his work can make a difference to the way we view resources that grow on our door step.
“It seems wrong to be importing so much hazel when we have so much of it that remains un-managed in our local woodlands. It is a shame that so many young people struggle to find jobs, when spar production could be providing a decent living and satisfying work. I am really looking forward to learning more about the woods and getting to know the material better. It has given my job a lot a variety through different seasons. My chainsaw instructor caught me hugging a tree and asked if I thought I was on the right course, but it is important to have respect for the living environment.”