LE CONSERVATOIRE DE LA FOURCHE: 29-V-09

There is a pitchfork museum in the quaint little town of Sauve. The art of making these pitchforks dates back 700 years, and with a brief hiatus in the early 1980s, the tradition has continued till today.

These pitchforks were once used to separate the silk cocoons from their branches, but today these pitchforks are used to toss duck and geese feathers and fluff up the eiderdown.

The branches are from the tree "micocoulier" and it takes about 8 years to cut and trim the tree to grow 3 branches in a specific shape.

The "forcaire" is the maker of the pitchfork, and the "reblacaire" is the cutter/carver of the fork. Note the same root word "forc" and in English "fork", with the same pronunciation.