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If you for instance find a lot of berries but don`t have something to gather them in, or just want a container of mother natures materials, a bark container could be the answer.

Birch bark box

Bark containers could also be made a little more elaborate. Birch bark makes good containers and the bark is easily collected from May to mid July. Just taking the outer layer will not kill the tree, but get the land owners permission first.

 

 

The box is made of two pieces of birch bark joined together with cut out locking tabs and glued together.

The bottom and lid is made out of birch wood.

The bottom is glued and pegged to the bark cylinder.

The lid is made to fit the cylinder snuggly and a leather tab is used as handle.

The picture below shows how the bark is cut before "braided" together (pic from RM Bushcraft).

 

 

You could just add bottom and lid after joining the triangles, but I like to stiffen the box up a bit and glue a bark sylinder to the inside of the box as well.

You could see that the box above is yellow both inside and outside.

After gluing I use a piece wood shaped roughly as the finished box, which I split in two.

 

 

I insert the pieces inside the bark box and use wedges to tigthen it. The box is then left to dry over night.

I then cut out the lid and bottom after using the ready made box to draw the outline.

The bottom is then glued and fastened with wooden nails (barly visible at the above pictures).

The leather tab used on the lid is laid double and a wooden match is inserted (Picture below)

These birch bark boxes could be made in all shapes and sizes.

Below is a smaller box I`ve made.

Same method, only difference is a pair of reenforcment strips of bark top and bottom.

 

Birch bark can also be weaved.

One could make baskets, flasks, shoes, rucksacks, and many mor items by weaving birch bark.

Below is a salt container which I`ve made.

Instead of explaining or making a poor video of my own I will link to a Youtube video for 

instructions (same video I learned to make them from).

Willow bark bucket

 

 

The willow bark is easily harvested during the spring and early summer. A long sheet of bark is laid on the ground. Find its middle point and score an "oval" line between the sheets sides (picture below). Scoring could be done with a knife or sharp rock.

 

 

Rest the sheet on your knee and bend the ends against each other. The bottom of the container curves a little because of the lines scored in the bark, this is as it should be.

Make holes along the sides and lace it with willow inner bark. I don`t bother making 2 ply string, I just use the bark as is.

 

 

Find a willow shoot and split it. This split shoot is your inner and outer rim (my container doesn`t have an outer rim). Lace this to the bark and you are done. If you want a handle on the container just make one of another willow shoot, or make a string of willow inner bark.