The Claparèdes plateau

The name Claparèdes comes from "clapas" which means "pile of rocks" in Provençal. Many dry stone huts are on this plateau which goes from Castellet to Lacoste on about 10km. An old cereal land, the cultivation of lavender is now the most widespread on the plateau.

The Luberon is visible from everywhere and very present in the landscape. It is also a wonderful spur which reveals wide panoramas of Mont Ventoux and the Alps to the north from the Claparèdes plateau. Do not miss the purple mottling of the lavender from June to July. Contemporary human presence is rare but the few farms, bories, dry stone walls resulting from field stone removal are the proof of an earlier human presence.

Dedicated to a traditional agro-sylvo-pastoral system, the Claparèdes plateau is divided between forests, lawns and dry crops, but also groves surrounded by hedges of old trees, including almond trees and mulberries, witnesses of a past culture. The interface and transition zones between all these ecosystems (ecotonal zones) are very favorable to a diversified fauna: birds such as the lark lulu and the sparrow zizi, but also reptiles such as the grass snake, the worm and the ocellated lizard.

The aspic lavender (Lavandula latifolia), with broad whitish leaves, is a plant of the Mediterranean levels.. The fine lavender (Lavandula Angustifolia) with narrow leaves, is is more mountainous (up to 1500 m altitude). It is usually the lavandin, a hybrid of the two and more productive, that is observed on the plateau of Claparèdes (do not pick!).

The plot is prepared one year before planting: plowing, weeding. The planting is done after the big frosts. The implantation is more or less mechanized. The density of plants is 12,000 to 15,000 plants per hectare for lavender and 8,000 to 10,000 plants per hectare for lavandin. A lavender plantation remains in place for about 10 years. It is in production from the 2nd year and optimal yields in essential oil are obtained between the 4th and 6th year.

The flowery note of lavender essential oil is highly sought after by leading perfumers. Lavender is also used for various cosmetic, hygiene and beauty products. Industrial products (laundry soap, detergents, cleaning products, deodorants) are perfumed with lavandin. Its essential oil is cheaper and produced in greater quantities.

Essential oils are obtained by steam distillation. The stems and flowers are carefully packed in a vase so that the steam that will cross them, can not take preferential paths. The water vapor entrains the essential oil and this gaseous mixture is recovered and then condensed. It is then dumped in a gasoline or it is decanted. The essential oil, the lighter one, rises. The distilled water flavored by traces of this oil is hydrosol.

François Morenas was the owner of the former Regain Youth Hostel, nearby. Today deceased, he is the precursor of the first paths of great hikes of Provence. On the way, you will notice traces of blue paint, remain of his markings. Creator of hiking routes since 1953, he was also a writer and a traveling filmmaker! In Saignon, every summer, in the open air, there are still screenings of old films proudly preserved by F. Morenas and his friends.

On this old road that connected the fields to neighboring farms but also Buoux and Auribeau, you can easily notice notches cut and worn in two successive outcrops of rock. An additional testimony of the ancestral agricultural activity taking place on the Claparèdes plateau...

The large farms are the result of successive enlargements, in function of the needs of the operation. The mas in";L ;shape "is oriented south-east, offering protection against the mistral (which blows north-west). The openings are absent to the north and rather narrow elsewhere to protect themselves from heat in summer and cold in winter. At the bottom of the main body were the living rooms and the animals because of the heat releases. Upstairs, the bedrooms and attics.

Along the path but also everywhere in the undergrowth, you will notice the many alignments of walls following the ancient stonework and dry stone retaining walls. These constructions today neglected, they formerly comforted the terraces cultivated in restanque ("bancaou" in Provençal). These walls let the runoff water while containing the earth for subsistence crops; ? essentially wheat and fodder for the animals.

The lavender fields adorn the Luberon landscapes, which they colour at the beginning of the summer with blue-mauve streaks. Coming from the west of the Mediterranean basin, lavender was already used by the Romans to preserve linen and perfume baths. In the dry hills of Provence, wild lavender was used since the Middle Ages for its perfume but also in the composition of drugs. It is harvested during hot weather that promotes the rise of gasoline in the flower.

The yields of lavender essential oil are varied but can reach about 15 kg per hectare and 80 kg for lavandin. Some lavender producers use a mechanized harvesting system where the plant (stem and flowers) is crushed and sent to a towed dump. The fact of distilling milling modifying the quality, this technique is not adapted to obtain an essential oil of fine lavender. Finally, the most beautiful bouquets are still cut manually with the sickle.

The nearby borie is one of the most famous of the plateau (private, absolute respect). This type of construction requires real expertise, as much in the choice of stones as in their clever and smart assembly. To build in dry stone, so without mortar, it takes patience, a good look, and good notions of balance. A borie can weigh between 30 and 200 tons and uses 200,000 to 300,000 stones. Each of them has passed 2 or 3 times in the hands of the manufacturer!

The midge, Resseliella lavandulae is an insect subservient to lavanderaies. The adult emerges from the ground in winter to reproduce, then dies quickly. Females lay their eggs in anfractuosities of bark of branches. These white and pink-orange larvae are responsible for the drying of the attacked branches (silver aspect). Emerging traps often built with drums, allow to capture the adults as soon as they leave the ground.

Prior to distillation, harvested beans can remain on the field for a time to dry out and lose excess water. This prefanage of about one or two days is essential for fine lavender: it avoids modifying the quality of essential oil. In stills where the vats are equipped with basket with hoist, the flowers are not mixed with water. In the neighboring fields, the lavender straw after distillation was deposited and then used as fuel.

The shepherds have probably built the single-celled huts and the peasants the bories of larger dimensions. It seems accepted that most of these constructions were built between the eighteenth and nineteenth century. A borie is an original construction by the unique use of stone and its technique of assembly. The covering or the vault is called corbelled; it is a technique that consists of laying the stones in sitting with passing from the top row to the bottom.

This old rural road was brought to light in the 1970s by François and Claude Morenas, tireless pioneers of itineraries. In the 2000s, it was the Park with the help of the department that worked to safeguard it against the real estate pressure. Today it is perennial, registered in the Departmental Plan of Walk and Hiking, it benefits from the maintenance and tagging action of the Vaucluse department, but also by the supervision of volunteers, walkers or mountain bikers.