In the early 20th century the area around Sint Jan-in-Eremo (Sint-Laureins - East Flanders) was famous for its flax industry. Quite a few inhabitants once worked in the flax industry there and many farmers harvested flax at home. The flax industry is not as big as it was in the early 20th century, but there are still four flax farms in the area. “In order not to forget that past several special panels referring to the rich flax past are being unveiled” says Eddy Matthijs of the Rural Guild of Sint Jan-in-Eremo.
During the pandemic the Rural Guilds Saint-Jan-Bentille mapped out a tourist walk taking in the flax past of the municipality. The Rural Guild also collected pictures of anything related to the region’s flax past. "The response was huge. We received hundreds of images and felt we had to do something with them. There will now be a memorial wall with five panels from Bentille's flax history," Eddy Matthijs explains.
"Soil is ideal for growing flax"
In the early 1900s, many people in the region of Sint-Laureins (East Flanders) were involved in the flax industry. "The region has the advantage that the soil is ideal to grow flax. You have the polder soil and at the same time sandy soil. It is in this region that local farmers first started cultivating at home. Later, some also bought large machinery to process flax on a larger scale. Today there are still four flax companies in the region, but once an awful lot of people worked in the flax industry," Eddy Matthijs recalls.
Flax remains important in the region
The flax industry is now a fraction of what it once was. "Flax is still grown on 1,000 hectares of land. Flax from Zeeland Flanders and northern France is processed in the region. So the flax heritage is still there”.