Evdokiia Nesterova gathers willow roots for basket making

“Bark baskets were sewn using these roots. They are very thin roots. In the middle, you can cut them like this, as you see. That’s how my mother used to make them. She probably dug them up in spring, when the ground hadn’t grown over yet. When she decided to dig for roots, she likely took a hoe (ӄэӄэк) and a knife with her. She said that’s how it was. And I still sew the birch bark basket with roots like these – I could even do it tonight.”

Recorded by Erich Kasten. Lesnaya, 2002.