Today, Arian and his family are hading to the forest
in order to harvest wood as they begin preparations for the next winter
Despite the fact that spring is in full swing and the frigid, bitter-cold winter is being left behind
a similar trend emerges amongst the rest of the locals
all of whom have begun preparing for when the cold returns
To Yakuts, firewood is as valuable as water, the harsh winters are impossible to survive without it
Arian and his family need at least 30 cubic meters to survive the next winter, but they cannot harvest that much on their own
Luckily, Arian’s cousins are always glad to lend a hand, as they do every year
They drive about 8 km away from the village
However, all the snow that fell in 7 months has introduced a new issue
deep, muddy puddles that are extremely difficult and dangerous to drive around
As you may have noticed, in most Yakut villages, there are no asphalt roads
This is because Yakutia located in continuous permafrost
As the grown thows unevenly, it causes damage, and roads need constant repairs to keep them safe
Finally, the family has arrived at the forest and didn’t get stuck,
thanks to the skillful driving of Arian’s father - Kirill Petrov
Before anything else, Liubov - Arian’s Mother - looking for the oldest tree in the area
and request for a blessing by feeding it with homemade Yakutian pancakes
Since every Yakut believe in the existence of spirits in animals, trees, rivers, hills and fire
they perform this ritual as a symbol of gratitude and appreciation for the spirits
Now, it's time to get started
Naturally, Kirill chooses the biggest tree he can find
as it provides more firewood
The trees being harvested are Siberian larch wood
the durability of this wood is perfect for combatting the harsh climate faced by Yakuts
Kirill first cuts a large notch more than halfway into the tree
and then cuts towards that notch from the opposite side
All the while, the boys are pushing with all their might to bring the tree down
As Kiril removes the branches and cuts the tree into more manageable logs
the boys take the logs and chop them down.
And 9 year-old Arian use all his might when chopping the wood to keep up with his cousins
While the boys were cutting down trees, Liubov prepared a lunch for the family
The scent of Liubov’s cooking wafts through the air
both exciting and relaxing the hungry, hard-working family.
After tirelessly chopping logs, Arian and his cousin Valera excitedly wash their hands and faces
to refresh themselves before eating lunch.
The time has come to get back to work
Well-rested and refueled from a delicious lunch
the family is ready to continue working until they get all the wood they need for the coming winter
Cutting down the trees is tiresome and very time-consuming
but without this wood, the family will struggle to get by comfortably during the winter.
As they cut the wood down to firewood size,
it is stacked in single rows so the sun and wind can draw the moisture out of the cut ends
It takes around 6 months to dry out the wood
so doing so as soon as possible is essential
If the drying process is started too late - in the autumn or winter,
then the wood would not be ready to use until the following year
it would still be too moist, and wouldn’t burn properly or at all.
This is the main reason that wood-harvesting is done so soon after winter ends.
Both of them came so close to finishing together
but in the end, Valera proved that the older brother is still superior.
It looks like Yarik has a very long walk ahead of him!