High Arctic Haulers·Video

North of the treeline, wood from cargo crates get a new life

Crate wood gets broken down and repurposed into storage sheds and box sleds.

Crate wood gets broken down and repurposed into storage sheds and box sleds

Leftover cargo crates find a new life in Naujaat

5 years ago
Duration 1:39
Living in an Arctic community north of the treeline, James Jr Kopak finds creative ways to reuse wooden crates that are leftover from cargo ships.

What do you do when you need wood, but you live north of the treeline? You certainly can't go cut it yourself, and importing wood from the south is too expensive. 

In the Arctic community of Naujaat, they've found an innovative solution to the problem of "where do we get wood?" Like so many other Nunavut communities, Naujaat gets most of its consumer goods from the annual sealift. And that sealift cargo comes in wooden crates. 

(CBC | High Arctic Haulers)

"They call it junk wood. I call it good wood," says Naujaat resident James Jr. Kopak. 

Kopak and his neighbours salvage the crate wood and use it to create everything from storage boxes to entire cabins. 


Learn more about Nunavut communities like Naujaat who utilize the annual sealift for everything from food to telephone poles to discarded shipping supplies.