With an investigation looming into whether burning wood is bad for the environment, Brackenburn is helping shoppers looking for ways to stay warm with a clean conscience.
The link between burning wood and air pollution arises when the wood is wet.? Wet wood makes stoves and open fires work at a lower temperature, meaning less fuel is fully burnt and more escapes as soot.
To help, there?s a certification scheme in place to identify and promote dried wood ? but the team at Brackenburn think they can do even better.
Based in Somerset, they harvest bracken from the surrounding countryside, before drying it, cutting it and compressing it into ?Brackettes?.
?Our ?Brackettes? contain just 14% moisture or less and burn hotter and longer than oak, as well as producing less smoke in the process.?
Harvesting bracken increases the biodiversity of the local area and helps all kinds of flora and fauna to flourish ? not to mention the trees that are being saved along the way.
And in more good news for gardeners, the residue leftover after burning contains two and a half times as much potash as wood ash ? rich in potassium and perfect for fertilising plants.
Borne out of a conversation between a local farmer and the Senior Warden of the Mendip Hills, Brackenburn has gone on to receive backing from Centrica, the West of England Growth Fund and a local social enterprise.
Combined with their own investment, this has helped the team to grow the business and go on to sell ?Brackettes? nationwide.
A 10kg recyclable bag contains 10 ?Brackettes? ? RRP ?6.99.
