June is a very special month for us: once a year the time has come and we can harvest our birch bark! Because at this time of year, the trees are in full sap and the outer birch bark layer can be particularly well removed from the trunk.
The birch bark we use for our products originates exclusively from the vast forests of the Siberian taiga and only from natural mixed forests. You may ask why? Because the birch species found there have a much thicker and more robust bark than the species common in Central Europe and are therefore best suited for our purposes.
Like any tree bark, birch bark consists of several layers. For harvesting, we only use the outer layer, the “Borke”, which is also called birch bark. The inner and darker layer, the “Bast”, is not harmed during a sustainable and gentle harvest. This ensures that nutrients can continue to be transported. The bark regenerates after a few years and the tree takes no harm.
How we harvest
By cutting vertically into the outer bark, the birch bark can be removed from the tree with a juicy crackle if the harvest time is well chosen and the outer layer can be peeled off. During harvesting, there are several methods to remove the bark from the tree. Our harvesters mainly pull the bark from the trunk in thin plates, so-called “Plasti”, and take care not to cut too large pieces in order to protect the tree.
After harvesting, the plates are briefly dried in the sun to allow the moisture to soak out of the bark. They are then collected and tightly bound for storage. Thus, the bark can be stored in a well-aired place until it is selected and further processed.
From storage, the next step is material preparation. This requires time, calmness as well as a lot of tact and love for the material. In our production locations in Tomsk and Ivanovo, our MOYA team produces beautiful unique pieces from the birch bark with the certain know-how. None of the products is like the other, because the birch bark couldn’t be more different in its surface, structure and coloring.
You can find all the products made of our unique birch bark in our onlineshop!
Spread birch bark with us!
Your MOYA Team
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