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Making Cordage in the Wilderness

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Making Cordage in the Wilderness — The art of bushcraft teaches us that Mother Nature can provide everything we need to survive. You can forage for food, you can use medicinal plants to heal your body and you can build a sturdy shelter with the resources you can find around you.

The art of bushcraft teaches us that Mother Nature can provide everything we need to survive. You can forage for food, you can use medicinal plants to heal your body and you can build a sturdy shelter with the resources you can find around you.

Being able to make a piece of string from plants is an important bushcraft skill. It will help you in the construction of almost any type of shelter. Although it is considered a forgotten skill, there are still some survivalists keeping it alive.  Most people rely on paracords and all sort of modern cordage when it comes to camping. However, it is quite surprising the simplicity with which cordage can be manufactured in nature.

The knowledge of making cordage from plants has been passed on from the Native Americans. Their technology and the simple methods of making cordage remain unchanged. From them, we managed to learn which plants are the most useful for making cordage.

Here is a list of plants recommended for making cordage due to their tensile strength:

Stinging Nettle. This is one of the most versatile plants used by the Native Americans. The stalks of this plant contain a very strong fiber that can have many uses. Our ancestors used it to make fish line, thread, yarn, snares, nets, ropes, cloth, bowstrings and even sandals. To obtain the fiber, the dry stems had to be pounded to remove the woody parts. After that, the remaining fiber was cleaned by hand.

Milkweed. The advantage of this plant is that you can use its stalks when the plant is green or dry. From personal experience, I recommend harvesting it when dry.

Read the article below to discover the other plans and the step by step guide to make cordage:

Making Cordage in the Wilderness