Igor Jean, Site Manager at Les Ateliers du Chêne for La Cabane Perchée Activities

The Man Who Whispers in the Ear of Trees

Igor Jean is the local figure of this story. A resident of Apt for the past 25 years — and now 30 years old — the Luberon has become his playground. He has made it his home. Site Manager at Les Ateliers du Chêne for La Cabane Perchée activities, he leads the development of Charlois’s remarkable wooden structures.

At Les Ateliers du Chêne in Apt, Igor is very much at home. He spends most of his time there, dividing it between his upstairs office, the workshop on the ground floor, and visits to clients. Igor is passionate — just like his colleagues. Trained and practicing as a carpenter, he is a former member of the Compagnons du Tour de France. It was a school of life as much as a place of apprenticeship. An experience from which he has drawn the very essence, refining it and passing it on.

Member of the Compagnons du Tour de France

To please his parents — especially his mother — like many others, he made the effort to complete his high school years, earning a scientific baccalaureate. “For me, school was torture. I had this image of being the one who never did things like everyone else, the one who reached the right result through a different method. My mother always told me, you will get your baccalaureate. And that’s what I did.” Igor saw his future somewhere other than on university benches. “I climbed a ladder before I could walk. I grew up surrounded by construction sites while my father was building our house — he built four of them. I’ve always been drawn to manual trades. My father used to say, your best tool and your best ally are your two hands.” More than an anecdote, it was advice that gradually took root and made perfect sense for Igor.

Time to Choose

As a young graduate, Igor chose to join the Compagnons du Tour de France — a decision of both heart and reason. “A cousin’s husband was a Compagnon; that was all it took to convince me.” He headed to Marseille for school and to Brignoles for the company where he trained — nearly 180 kilometers a day, which Igor covered without complaint throughout his apprenticeship. “I discovered another world, one that suited me, that felt made for me. The Compagnons are a school of life — a place to learn skills, but also respect and values, especially the value of work.” After Brignoles came Albertville, and always the same thirst to learn, to understand, to build. For his practical examination as a Compagnon, he did not create a scale model, as recommended, but a full-scale construction. A project on which he spent countless hours in the evenings after class: the construction of a porch, still standing today. Not quite like everyone else.

The Most Beautiful Job in the World

Through the craft of carpentry, through wood itself, Igor discovered the tree — and learned the forest and the long term. “The more you know the tree, the more you respect it. That’s a fact. As a carpenter, I could say it’s the most beautiful job in the world — a noble, ancestral craft. The carpenter works with wood in its upright state. It’s a trade that has made it possible to build some of the most beautiful monuments in the world. It’s highly technical, rooted in deep expertise. We work with large volumes yet with the precision of a watchmaker. Wood is a living material.” When Igor speaks about trees, his voice changes. His gaze drifts toward the horizon, searching for an image to illustrate his thoughts. As Site Manager at La Cabane Perchée, which he joined in 2020 during the Covid period, Igor has developed the habit of observing and analyzing the trees that might one day support a cabin in their branches. “The tree is the starting point for building a cabin. You have to find the right one — straight enough, tall enough, strong enough. Its exposure to wind, its age… Nothing can be overlooked, especially in terms of safety.” Once everything is validated, the project can begin. But one final step remains — an authorization to obtain: “When I’ve finished scanning the tree, I have an unchanging ritual — I ask it for permission to install a cabin in its branches!”

“The more you know the tree, the more you respect it. That’s a fact. As a carpenter, I could say it’s the most beautiful job in the world — a noble, ancestral craft. The carpenter works with wood in its upright state. It’s a trade that has made it possible to build some of the most beautiful monuments in the world. It’s highly technical and requires deep expertise. We work with large volumes yet with the precision of a watchmaker. Wood is a living material.”

Three Questions for Igor Jean

Igor, what are your responsibilities within Les Ateliers du Chêne?

I am the Site Manager for La Cabane Perchée — that’s what my role is called. I oversee projects from A to Z, from design to delivery to the client, including installation in the tree. I also handle the initial meetings with clients. The goal is to determine whether the project is feasible, under what conditions, and within what budget.

How did you join the team?

(He pauses to think.) For two years, I worked as a self-employed carpenter-roofer. It was exhausting. My mother, who is an educator, had heard about La Cabane Perchée as a place where young people could do internships. She was the one who told me about it. So I went. I saw the lights on and stepped in, as the saying goes. Pierre Nègre hired me. I remember there was a meeting that day. We held the interview squatting in the workshop. Two weeks later, I was starting this adventure. And within those first two weeks, I practically worked a full month to finish a cabin on time — my very first cabin.

And since then?

Since then? We’ve built around fifty cabins across France and around the world. We work in exceptional conditions, with an incredible team and a true team spirit. Every morning, I’m happy to come to work — even if I’m not an early riser. I love my job. I love the idea of working to bring people’s childhood dreams to life. We’re fortunate to belong to a Group that makes all of this possible. We’re all aware of that. We’re lucky to be part of a fast-growing Group that keeps moving forward, multiplying projects and ideas. Ideas that always move in the same direction, toward the same goal: to enhance wood ever more effectively — especially oak — and through it, to elevate craftsmanship, our craftsmanship.

Photographs : Christophe Deschanel