Aleksandra Urkachan and others consult each other while collecting lyme grass

Aleksandra Urkachan, Ekaterina Yaganova, Evdokiia Nesterova, and Natalia Yaganova consult one another while gathering lyme grass, discussing how to process it into threads for making carrying bags.

“This is how we gather the grass. With the roots? — Yes, just like that, with the roots. These ones are too thick, I’ll take the thinner ones. Then we peel them and remove the outer skin. At home, I’ll show you how to pull it off. We use these to weave baskets and carrying bags. Look here, the fibers — this one’s broken, no thread inside. But this grass has thread — it’s dry and just starting to split into fibers. These ones are still fresh, they snap. Once they dry, we start separating them. When they’re dry, we bring them home. They wilt — and that’s good. When they’ve wilted, the skin comes off easily. And in winter, when the days are short, we spin the fibers into thread. In spring, we make the carrying bags. In the past, they used them when they went to gather fireweed. They were heavily loaded — the baskets were full.”

Recorded by Erich Kasten. Lesnaya, 2002.