Tobias Serrano was the owner of a cork processing factory that existed from 1964-2005. Here at OBRAS I met his grand daughter Carla Ramos who invited me on a tour of the remains of this factory in the neighboring town of Estremoz (say ess-trray-mosh). She shared her knowledge of the processing and the fond memories of her childhood growing up next door. The images that follow are of the machinery used for processing cork and what appears to be tools dropped and left behind by the workers on the last day of business.
The loading bay
The cutting table
One of the presses
The boiler room
The furnace below ground boiled the water above it. The cork was lowered into the boiling water to flatten.
Carla remembers getting embers here in the morning for cooking.
The boiling bin in which was dunk the cork.
The cork was then lifted out of the boiling water and laid on top for a second pressing.
Hello Sonja!
ReplyDeleteIt was great to remember the photos and read your descriptions.
We have also prepared a slide show of photos from the day you have been here.
Enjoy: http://picasaweb.google.com/festacarla/FILMAGENSFOTOGRAFIANaFabrica#
Carla