Lea's Adventures
Exploring the Frutigen Forests
Dirty clothes, leaves in my hair, and sticky hands – this is how my blog about spruce resin begins. Haven't read it yet? Then it's high time you did. Click here for the blog
My boss didn't have to tell me twice. "What you write about, you should experience yourself," he said – and promptly sent me into the forest.
So it happened that on a Thursday morning, instead of sitting in the office as usual, I set off into the forests of Frutigen.
It had only snowed in Frutigen a short while before, so I braced myself for a cold, perhaps even unpleasant morning. In Frutigen, I met with a close relative of the puralpina family. He knows the forests around Frutigen like the back of his hand and occasionally collects spruce resin for puralpina.
With palpable pride, he tells me about the beauty of his homeland in the Bernese Oberland – about the forests, mountains, and the special tranquility that prevails here. I listen, marvel... and quickly realize: as a city dweller, I can hardly compete with that.
Collecting resin without harming the tree
With thick gloves and a spatula, we head into the forest, still in the shadows. The air is cool, and the ground is still partly frozen. While I'm still getting used to the surroundings, nothing escapes his trained eyes. Where I would carelessly pass by, he already discovers the first traces: dripping resin, solidified on the trunk.
"Damaged trees – and thus a lot of spruce resin – are mainly found along roadsides or in areas with rockfall," he explains to me, pointing to a spot on the trunk.
One thing quickly becomes clear: intentionally injuring the trees to get resin is forbidden. "The tree should not and must not suffer," he says firmly. Resin is only collected where nature has already left its marks. The best resin is no longer liquid but not yet completely hardened – its consistency reminds me of chewing gum. Most resin is found in spring, as sap flow is increased during this time.
From the forest to our products
For hours, we roam through the forest collecting resin. We make our way through dense branches and thickets, stopping frequently. Amazed, I listen to everything the former hunter tells me. I realize how little I actually know about nature and its animals. It's impressive what nature produces – spruce resin is just a small part of it.
To integrate the active ingredients of spruce resin from the forest into our products, the resin is heated in oil to about 70 degrees Celsius. After about two hours of steeping, the hard spruce resin yields the properties important for our products.
Back to childhood
While the cold slowly seeps through every crack in my clothes, we make our way back. Gradually, the sun also manages to climb over the mountain range, bathing the forest in a soft light. With cold hands but a smile on my face, I say goodbye to the former hunter.
And indeed: with dirty clothes, leaves in my hair, and sticky hands, I set off for home after this eventful morning. For these exciting insights, and the little journey back to my childhood, the dirty clothes were more than worth it.
Only one detail bothers me a little: my parents no longer wash my clothes. I have to do that myself now. 😉