Roman Räss is one of the few Weissküfer artisans still working in Switzerland. He masters a technique that originated in the late 17th century as a way of shaping and bending wood to create milk pails, buckets, butter churners, moulds and other tools needed by alpine farmers. Woodcarving was a source of income for generations of families in the Bernese Oberland. In its heyday, in the second half of the 19th century, around 2,000 people were occupied as woodcarvers in the area. They made souvenirs such as wild and domestic animals and human figures, but also things for everyday use. The Brienz School of Woodcarving, which still trains woodcarvers today, was founded in 1884.
Roman Räss