Hiding in the Forest and on Your Barbecue Grill: Environmental Humanities Perspective on Charcoal Burning

Location: Rachel Carson Center, fourth floor, Conference Room, Leopoldstr. 11a, 80802 Munich, Germany

The workshop is open to RCC students and researchers. To register, please email envstudies@rcc.lmu.de.

Abstract:

Have you ever considered the origins of the charcoal used at a barbecue—how, where, and by whom was it produced? What exactly is charcoal? And how has it shaped the world around us?

Charcoal burning is a recognized historical usage of the forest and intangible with many cultural heritages in Europe and across the world. It continues to be practiced in various areas across the world, also commercially, and can have a significant impact on the environment. There are a number of questions and socio-ecological challenges that arise from the practice. 

In this workshop, Dr. Anna Varga will introduce an ethnobiological perspective on charcoal burning in connection with the history of the modern period in Central and Eastern Europe. She will also provide a hands-on experience with the “black gold” through a multisensory activity.

Dr. Anna Varga is an ethnobiologist and forest education teacher, former Landhaus and Carson fellow of the RCC, and currently holds a fellowship with MSCA-WIDERA Horizon. Her postdoctoral project, entitled Hidden in the Forest: Environmental History and Environmental Knowledge of Charcoal Burning in Central and Eastern Europe Since the Nineteenth Century, is hosted by the Department of Vegetation Ecology at the Botanical Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences in Brno, Czech Republic. You can find more information about the research project here: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61575492765467

Suggested Readings to Prepare for the Workshop:

• Zahnen, Johannes, Peter Hirschberger, Volker Haag, and Tim Lewandrowski. 2020. “2020 Analysis of the EU Charcoal Market.” WWF Germany. www.researchgate.net/publication/346569778_2020_Analysis_of_the_EU_Charcoal_Market.
• Arko, Thelma, Adelina Mensah, James Adomako, Fatima Denton, and Pedi Obani. 2024. “The Multifaceted Socio-Ecological Impacts of Charcoal Production on the Afram Plains, Ghana.” Trees, Forests and People 16, no. 100586. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666719324000931.
• Woitsch, Jiří. 2025. “Charcoal Makers in Bohemia: From Privileged Craftsmen to Strange Forest Dwellers.” Academia. www.academia.edu/31134740/Charcoal_Makers_in_Bohemia_From_Privileged_Craftsmen_to_Strange_Forest_Dwellers.
• The European Charcoal Burners Association: www.europkoehler.com (eng. introduction here)
• EU-PoTaRCh COST Action: Network for Forest By-Products Potash, Tar, Resin, and Charcoal: potarch.eu. (Page on Cost: https://www.cost.eu/actions/CA22155/).