Shaping The Tradition

“Every tradition comes with its own specific tool,” says Viktorija Šarlāne. With her carefully crafted set of implements she intends to shape a tradition in her native Latvia: every spring people go birch tapping, to collect the sweet, healthy sap from young trees. Her kit guides you through the ritual and helps keep the trees in good health. It includes the tools for each step: there is a hand drill to make a small hole just deep enough, a tube to let the juice flow, a bottle and cup to collect and savour it, and a wooden peg to plug the hole when you are done.