Traditional Birchbark Canoe Build with Chuck Commanda

Chuck Commanda, master traditional birch bark canoe builder.

According to the Canadian Museum of History, birchbark canoe tools first emerged 3,000 years ago. The birchbark canoe is an astoundingly light watercraft even by today's standards – much more manageable than a dugout canoe for navigating all the waterways and portage trails across Ontario. I own a high-end kevlar canoe and it's barely lighter than this one made of birchbark by master birchbark canoe builder, Chuck Commanda.

It blows my mind to think that all of the materials needed to build a birchbark canoe grow here in Ontario, too.

Spending time with Chuck and learning about the traditional process for building a birchbark canoe was an incredible experience and I'm happy to have had the opportunity to work on such a great project.

One of my favourite things about producing videos for a living is the ability to experience a wide variety of industries, meet interesting people, and learn about things that would otherwise be reserved for leisurely curiosity in my free time.

Chuck is a master traditional birch bark canoe builder who crafts canoes with raw materials he personally harvests using age-old traditional techniques; it’s a marvel to witness up close all of the natural components manipulated to create such a beautiful and practical piece of art.

This was part of a project we produced for the Simcoe Muskoka Catholic School board for the Ontario Youth Apprenticeship program.