Where Does Cork Come From?
We get asked this question all the time, so we put together a quick infographic map animation showing an approximate distribution of cork oak “montado” forest along the Mediterranean.
While the largest concentration of cork oaks are in Portugal, the tree can also be found in Spain, France, Italy, Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia. These costal Mediterranean regions are able to provide plenty of sunshine, low rainfall, and high humidity to the cork oak and in return the tree helps to reduce desertification.
Surprisingly, the thick layer of cork bark makes the oak resilient to forest fires. In addition to providing a sustainable economic lifeline to many workers in these regions, the protected forests serve as a home to thousands of unique wildlife species including a few endangered species like the Iberian Lynx. The dead cork bark is carefully separated from the living trees by generational craftsmen using only traditional hand tools in 9 year cycles to ensure the montado remains unharmed.
Because...