O CHRISTMAS TREE

The Christmas tree is a piece of merchandise, which is in great demand. Across Europe approximately 70 million Christmas trees are sold every year. Many of them come from Denmark, where mainly Caucasian firs are cultivated. Their seeds grow in the area surrounding the small provincial town of Ambrolauri in Georgia. Even today, the cones of the Caucasian firs have to be collected in a very adventurous manner. Courageous workers climb to the top of the trees where the cones can be found. This job is both strenuous as well as highly dangerous, as the individual trees grow to heights of between 30 and 60 metres. Yet, hardly anyone uses a safety harness or a helmet, as they are too expensive. Even though terrible accidents are a regular occurrence, the people have no other choice as they are fully dependent on this work.