Trees are a source of health and life. Elizabeth is sixty-seven years old, and Carlos is seventy, and perhaps precisely because of this, they are aware of the importance of their work in the forest. They are a couple in love with resin and, naturally, with the white pines (Pinus halepensis) from which they extract their sap from March to November. Each day, they spend three or four hours amongst the trees, and the result is a magical, greyish liquid that drips patiently and gleams in the rays of the early morning sun. The rhythm of the resin is constant, a substance from which a great quantity of products in our daily lives are derived: pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, construction, food... the list is long.

It all began following an original idea that has become a solid and increasingly viable dream. The Montané family granted them 2,200 pines across some 40 hectares in Vallirana, at Pla d'Ardenya, in exchange for forest maintenance. At the end of 2015, they created the Forest Baix cooperative, established an agreement with a refinery in Castile and León, and everything else fell into place. They just needed to begin.

Resin extraction is more than a sustainable trade: it is a way of caring for the forest and preventing fires. Elizabeth and Carlos are forest guardians in the broadest sense: with their constant presence, they watch over the territory, keep access routes clear, detect tree pests or diseases, and contribute to the sustainable management of an ecosystem that, without this attention, would be more vulnerable to fires and degradation.

More than ten years after the first idea, well equipped from head to toe, Elizabeth and Carlos invite us to join one of their working days, a forest bath where sounds from three worlds mingle: the most present, that of great spotted woodpeckers and other birds that sing without pause; the second, the tapping of the resin tappers' tools (the bark scraper, the adze and many others) working the bark amongst the crackling of the undergrowth; and the last, the most distant, the sound of an aircraft engine coming from El Prat airport. An amalgam of realities from this resin forest that we shall now discover. Before beginning, they proudly show us the colophony or amber, the solid residue of the resin, yellowish in tone. It gleams in the light of the forest clearings with an ancient beauty.

How did the idea arise to recover the resin tapping trade in Barcelona province?

Elizabeth Ibanga (E): Carlos and I worked for a construction company, but it closed down. I was still too young to retire and I thought: either we find work or this won't go well. The positive aspect was that we had a small flat in Vallirana and no debts.

Carlos Delgado (C): If we had to start again, we didn't want it to be in Barcelona, because it meant dedicating twelve hours a day to travelling and working. One day, from the terrace of our flat, I was wondering what we could do in Vallirana. Before my eyes there was only forest... Resin extraction! And I began searching for information on the internet. I thought that the fact that the trade wasn't practised didn't mean it couldn't be done.

Who were your references?

C: In Castile and León, it's very well organised and they've been doing it for five hundred years. However, across the whole of Spain, there isn't enough resin for production needs and 75% has to be imported from Brazil and China. And it's not for lack of trees, it's for lack of labour. A shame, because we've got pines to spare!

«Across the whole of Spain, there isn't enough resin for production needs and 75% has to be imported» Carlos Delgado

This substance has had a significant role throughout the centuries, hasn't it?

C: The history of resin goes back thousands of years. In northern Europe, the Vikings were already trading amber, which is the yellowish fossilised resin from pines, also called 'colophony'. And in ancient Rome, resin was used to caulk ships, that is, to waterproof them.

How does resin tapping work?

C: The resin tapping season lasts nine months, from March to November. We extract the resin from the pines into containers that we place on the trees and then store it in 200kg drums. Once we've filled two pallets of drums, they come to collect them from the Resinas Naturales refinery in Castile and León, a company that has always treated us very well. Throughout Spain, there are eight refineries, belonging to four or five different companies. They pay us per net kilogram, and they handle the processing and marketing. When the resin reaches the plant, they filter out the impurities and, at a certain temperature, it melts and is filtered. It then settles, and finally, there's a distillation process in which, at a specific temperature, the two components are separated: colophony (solid) and turpentine (liquid). The result is sold to pharmaceutical companies and other industries. In fact, it's surprising how many everyday products are made with resin! Did you know that asphalt, rubber, tyres, chewing gum and medicines like Vicks VapoRub contain it?

« t's surprising how many everyday products are made with resin!» Carlos Delgado

You created the Forest Baix cooperative to develop the activity, but first, you went through a learning phase.

C: At the beginning, we were six in the project, but now we're three: Elizabeth, myself and a third member, who is a collaborating partner. But yes, we trained ourselves. Elizabeth is the master. She did the course in Amposta aimed at forestry engineers. She knows a lot and works harder than I do. And she's faster! I always say they should dedicate a sculpture to her, since she's the first woman 'master resin tapper of Catalonia'. The first... and the only one!

E: [Laughs] I've been doing the job longer than Carlos, yes, seven years now... And I have the resin tapper qualification!

Besides extraction, you dedicate part of your time to training interested people. With what aim?

C: Yes, many forestry schools visit us to learn about the resin extraction process: the Escola Agrària Forestal de Santa Coloma de Farners , the Institut de Sostenibilitat i Medi Ambient de Barcelona and other centres. And we like sharing what we know, because we want to extend the trade throughout Catalonia. With the great quantity of white pine we have in the territory, we would be the main producers in Spain. We want people to dedicate themselves to it, because they can make a decent living.

«We like sharing what we know, because we want to extend the trade throughout Catalonia. We want people to dedicate themselves to it, because they can make a decent living»  Carlos Delgado

If there's so much potential, why aren't there more resin tappers in Catalonia?

C: Firstly, because the trade isn't known. That's why we introduce it to forestry school students who visit us regularly. A second problem is that 76% of forests are privately owned, whilst in Castile, most forests are communal. There, councils rent out plots of 5,000 pines: with a forest of this size you can obtain between 20,000 and 22,000 euros in nine months of work. Not bad at all.

To practise the trade, you need two elements: people who will let you use the pines and people who want to work. In our case, we reached an agreement with the forest owner. Besides extracting resin from the pines, we do forest clearance for them. The curious thing is that just on the other side of the estate path, another owner said no to the same proposal. It's a type of work that can be done even at our ages, so a young person starting out could make a living from this activity for decades!

What's the first step someone wanting to enter the world of resin should take?

C: If someone wants to become a resin tapper, they'll need to start by managing the forest. In the first year, you have to do a thorough cleaning: the forest estate has to be cleared to be able to work properly. Thinning and clearing forests is necessary for many reasons, but above all because it favours tree growth. If three or four pines are competing in one square metre, they don't let each other grow.

In our case, before we began managing the estate where we work, a forestry engineer from the Government of Catalonia visited us. When we explained that we would use brush cutters to clear paths, she told us which species we shouldn't touch, such as juniper, because it's a very slow-growing shrub that needs to be preserved to maintain forest diversity. At the same time, she recommended that in groups of small, clustered holm oaks, we should leave only the central oak, to help it grow well.

We resin tappers reduce fire risk because there's someone working in the forest every day. And we are there in the summer, the period most susceptible to fires.

«We resin tappers reduce fire risk because there's someone working in the forest every day. And we are there in the summer, the period most susceptible to fires» Carlos Delgado

Do you believe resin tapping could be a key tool for sustainable management and fire prevention in our forests?

C: Yes, because resin tapping only brings benefits to the territory. We resin tappers are forest guardians, because we're the first ones interested in it not burning. If we detect smoke, we alert the foresters. We're connected with them.

E: We clean the forest and thus prevent fires. I think this is one of the most important reasons why I do this work.

To implement resin tapping as a forest management tool, what's the main obstacle to overcome?

C: What's needed, above all, is to convince owners to let you use the pines. Normally, people who want to dedicate themselves to this trade don't have the resources to buy a forest estate. If they don't let you use the pines, you can't work. According to the inventory by postgraduate student Andrea Lapeña, there are 55 million white pines in Catalonia. Although not all can be tapped, due to factors like forest slope or difficulty of access, the potential for extracting resin is very great.

How could administrations help boost the trade?

C: The town councils, except if they own a public forest, can't do much. The Generalitat of Catalonia is the administration that can help most; for example, by making an inventory of forests where resin can be tapped and contacting owners to propose that, if they let us use the pines, we'll clean their forest. Then they'd need to find interested people and offer them training. We're willing to teach, but we can't take charge of contacting owners.

There's another important aspect: resin regulations are regional, and in Catalonia, there's no legal framework. Since we're the only ones dedicating ourselves to resin tapping, they told us that what we were doing was considered a pilot scheme. When there are sixty people working in this field, perhaps they'll adapt the Castile and León regulations.

Could a tool similar to land banks be created to facilitate resin tappers' access to private forests?

C: C: We'd like to find more owners willing to lease pines and more people who want to work them. We already have quite a few people interested in becoming resin tappers. For now, they're studying forestry training, but at weekends they'd like to dedicate themselves to resin. It's a trade where you don't depend on anyone, only on the hours you want to dedicate to it. The more you work, the more you extract.

Have you suffered any lack of recognition or misunderstanding from people for recovering this trade?

C: Yes. For example, one owner didn't want to lease us the pines because he was afraid we'd dry them out and kill them. We couldn't get him to change his mind. Another problem is that there are many armchair ecologists who, when you cut a tree, are already crying blue murder. In the first or second year, I remember someone hung signs on our resin collection containers with phrases like 'Tree killers', 'You're killing the trees', 'Trees suffer too', printed on paper and stuck with adhesive tape. At first, I wanted to ignore them, but since many people pass along the path, especially at weekends, they might believe it, so I decided to act. In a Vallirana village chat, I explained the applications of resin. The first sentence said: 'How brazen ignorance is'. And I added: 'Curiously, the adhesive tape you used contains resin, the toner contains it, and paper is a product derived from trees'. I also clarified that trees don't suffer in the resin extraction process, just as an aubergine or pepper doesn't suffer when we pull them from the garden.

Can you explain technically why resin extraction doesn't harm trees?

C: Resin emerges between the bark and the wood, in a reddish-coloured zone called 'the cambium', which is what eventually becomes bark. The resin channels circulate within this zone, whilst the tree sap goes inside the wood. The pine produces resin to seal wounds and prevent insects and pests. A good resin tapper never touches the wood.

The first task to be done is to smooth the bark (what in Spanish is called 'derroñar'). If you execute this task well, the incision is made in seconds and shouldn't be more than twelve centimetres, according to Castile and León regulations. Every twelve days you have to make a new one, because the wound stops dripping. When you return, you move upwards on the trunk. And so on until November. The resin that emerges first is liquid, like oil, and then gradually solidifies. We put a small grille on it so insects don't fall in.

After some years of work, do you think the activity is economically viable?

C: In Catalonia, it's not very viable yet, but in Soria, yes. In 2016 we spoke with a resin tapper who manages 8,000 pines on his own and was making about 27,000 euros per season. Currently, on average, we resin tappers earn between 15,000 and 25,000 euros per season.

Elizabeth, as a female resin tapper, how do you value your experience? Have you had to face specific challenges?

E: None at all. I'm sixty-seven years old and I've realised it's not work for which you need to be a specific age, but rather have enthusiasm. I'm convinced I'm doing work that someday many more people will carry out.

«I'm convinced I'm doing work that someday many more people will carry out» Elizabeth Ibanga

What would you say to young people interested in dedicating themselves to resin tapping?

E: To have patience, because it's a process that requires time and support. The administration has to help us, especially with the initial investment. Young people need money to start: in the first year, at least 3,000 euros.

You have a young son. What does he think of your dedication to resin extraction? Does he want to get involved?

C: No, he works in computing. In fact, our son thinks we're mad... He asks us why we keep working at our age, and we tell him we do it because we enjoy it. It's our hobby. Some pensioners have a vegetable garden and grow tomatoes: our garden is the forest and we extract resin from it. It's our form of entertainment.

What do you like most about resin tapping?

E: I really like the environment and cleaning the forest. This forest is home, because we've been coming here for seven years. The resin tapping trade is priceless. When I'm here, I meditate under the pines; I'm doing it right now whilst talking to you. I'd love to be able to continue with this activity, but it depends on my health.

C: As a young man, I was a Boy Scout, and I've always loved the mountains. Resin allows me to be there always. I'm in love with resin.

Original source of the interview: Technical Office for Municipal Forest Fire Prevention and Agricultural Development of the Barcelona Provincial Council