The former ochre quarries of Roussillon in the Luberon

In a pine forest in Roussillon, the Conservatory of Applied Ochre and Pigments perpétue la mémoire des ocres. Here, the buildings of the former Mathieu factory have been restored and the visitor can relive the different steps in the treatment of the raw material: elimination of sand through stone pipes ( cofferdams, then altars ), drying of the purified ochre in settling basins, cutting it into briquettes which are fired afterwards (according to the firing the ochre produces different colours ), and finally the crushing, filtering and the conditioning of pure ochre. For the Conservatory, a true treasure for enthusiasts of dyes and colours, it is not enough to just house the tools and materials; it is also an institution of savoir-faire. Artists, craftspeople, and people like you come to learn all year round all the techniques that use pigments.

There is only one company left in France which still extracts and markets ochre. The Société des Ocres de France, in Apt, owes its survival and present flourishing to the fabrication of by-products such as limewater colourwashes full of ochre. Founded 110 years ago, the Chauvin firm have extracted and marketed ochre for over a century. In the 1970's, they broadened their field of activity to include making paints and façade coatings. Today, the work of extracting ochre has been abandoned, but the marketing of coloured pigments remains the main activity of this family business, a business which has courageously adapted to the necessities of the present time.