Trees and People

A new day is starting in the Slovakian Liptov. Women are planting new trees on the rocky hillside, freight trains and cars loaded with wood are passing through the valley, and felled trees are lying on the hillside to be taken away. – In the village, children, old men, and women spend their time taking care of the farm in the most traditional way. To get water, they must go to the well, a horse is kept for hard labour, the wooden tools for work are made at home, and hygiene is carried out at a trough filled with water. – The loggers are drinking coffee at dawn, preparing their axes and saws, and feeding their horses. Meanwhile, a heavy machinery – crawler excavators and forest tractors – rumbles through the forest. Another group of loggers is brought to Liptov by the railway. – In some places the logs are still transported to the valley by controlled fall or by a draft horse, in other places are already cable cars at work. Both axes and chainsaws are being used for work. While tractors and excavators are taking away the felled logs, the loggers are having tinned meat, bread, and beer for diner by the fire. Cigarettes, cards, sitting around the fire, and some made up stories are the only source of joy for them. But their rest doesn't last long, there are more trees in the forest waiting to be marked for cutting.