Resonanzholz (Schweizer Geschichten 2023, von Valentin Flauraud) - Swiss Press Award

Luthier Philippe Ramel displays wood chips as he builds a guitar out of wood from the Risoux forest, in his workshop in Chardonne overlooking Lake Geneva on November 16, 2022. - The Risoux Forest is filled with spruce trees which are hundreds of years old, covering the border between France and Switzerland some 1,200 metres up in the Jura mountains. Their wood has a rare perfection, making it sought after by luthiers around the world for making acoustic guitars, violins and other stringed instruments. But climate change, in the form of drier weather, is threatening the special tonal qualities of the wood.