The forest is closely linked to human life. It has provided and continues to provide food, warmth, labour, building materials and much more. Living spaces, tools, equipment and weapons were largely made of wood. Outstanding properties, easy and versatile workability, resilience, elasticity and toughness characterise wood as a noble building and construction material. Wood was and still is indispensable for building settlements and houses, trade and industry. It is an integral part of faith and customs, music and medicine.
The tree as a companion for life over thousands of years’ spans an arc from the forest to the extraction of wood to the labouring trades such as carpenters, joiners, wainwrights etc. or the ancillary rural trades such as spoon makers, charcoal burners, pitch makers, rake makers and more.
