The arbé

An “arbé” is a hut with a removable roof on a stone foundation. Used only in summer and reassembled, it forms itinerant camps, making it easy to follow the dairy cows. At each “tramée” (change of arbé), the herders moved their cooking pots and utensils, boards and canvasses for the roof. Later, metal sheets and tarpaulin would replace the boards and canvasses. These shelters, which emerged in the Middle Ages, are prevalent in the Chavière valley.