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Charcoal burner Zygmunt Furdygiel loads wood into a charcoal furnace at a charcoal making site, in the forest of Bieszczady Mountains, near the village of Baligrod, Poland October 27, 2016. In a Polish mountain forest, Zygmunt Furdygiel spends four hours loading logs of beech wood into a large furnace, then lights up the pile and leaves the wood to burn. “It smokes for two days then cools for another two days”, the 69-year-old said. “On the fifth day, I take out the charcoal”. Furdygiel has worked as a charcoal burner for more than 40 years, turning wood into the black carbon. He is one of just a few charcoal burners still operating in the Bieszczady mountain range of southeastern Poland, regularly piling wood into some four furnaces, known as “retorts”. According to the regional office for Poland's national forests, just 16 years ago there were more than 50 such charcoal burning bases in Bieszczady equipped with more than 600 retorts. Today there are fewer than 10 with around 40 retorts due to cheaper imports from neighbouring countries such as Ukraine. (Photo by Kacper Pempel/Reuters)
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