Sustainable & durable

Natural materials

Our birch-bark canoes are produced, exactly like they have been for millenia, exclusively from natural materials. The construction works without metal nails and artificial glue, purely based on the wedge principle and using root lashings and wooden dowels. First the outer shell is made from birch-bark and lashed together with spruce roots, then the interior framework made from split spruce wood is inserted to support the bark.

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Birch bark

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Spruce roots

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Spruce wood

    Birch-bark

    Ancient plastic

    This has been a valuable material in Scandinavia, Russia and North America from time immemorial. Birch bark contains betulin, whose antimicrobial properties stop bark from rotting.

    It’s a robust material that is lightweight, flexible and long-lasting, and therefore a perfect outer shell for the canoe.

    Thanks to these special characteristics a birch-bark canoe that is maintained well can be used over several generations.

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    Spruce roots

    Elaborate wickerwork

    Spruce roots are the natural threads that are ornately used to lash together the canoe. It’s only a small amount of roots that is taken from each tree close to the forest floor.

    This doesn’t damage the tree, in fact it encourages growth. The roots turn red when being boiled, which creates a beautiful contrast to the birch-bark.

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    Spruce wood

    Split by hand into paper thin ribs

    The interior framework of the canoe consists of spruce wood that was split by hand, using no other tools. Some of the components have the width of only one single annual ring. Splitting the wood along the annual rings creates a unique, smooth surface structure.

    What makes it superior to sawn wood is the fact that even very thin components are flexible yet durable. Maximum robustness paired with optimum use of materials is what makes our boats beautifully lightweight.

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    Sealant

    Real life alchemy

    Thanks to our tried and tested special recipe, our birch-bark canoes are 100% water tight. For the sealant, we create a paste from pine resin, charcoal and linseed oil varnish that all joins underneath the water line are treated with.

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