A näver ending story - En kvalitativ studie om näverslöjd

Abstract

This paper examines the conditions for birch bark craftsmen to exercise their craft. Through qualitative interviews with craftsmen and literature studies some factors that affect the conditions have been identified and described. My first encounter with birch bark crafts took place during an internship at Värmlands Museum where I participate in a research work on birch bark and birch bark crafts. It then became clear to me that there are few people in Sweden who practice the craft today. There is little literature published on birch bark crafts. Issues raised and which this paper will highlight are: Why are there few people who craft with birch bark today? Is birch bark handicraft today a cultural heritage in need of artificial respiration? The conclusion of this essay is that there are certain factors that have led the exercise of crafts to decrease. The main factors are difficulty in getting hold of material, the lack of people who possess knowledge and changed values in society. Hopefully this essay should lead to detection and identification of opportunities to develop the preservation of birch bark craft knowledge.