Nepali Kagaj: The Plant, the Paper and the Process

Two species of lokta—Daphne papyracea and Daphne cannabina—are found in 52 of Nepal’s 75 districts (though only 32 produce paper) in both deciduous and evergreen forests at elevations of 2000-4000 m. Because it regenerates every six to eight years, sprouting with multiple branches from the main stem, the managed exploitation of lokta is highly sustainable.

Paper made from lokta fibres is known for its durability and its resistance to insects.  Another attractive quality is the fact that its irregular texture, created by the uneven distribution of fibres of different lengths, is aesthetically pleasing.  Lokta stands out in a third way: because it does not break down in liquid like most natural papers, dip-dying (dipping paper in vats of colour) can be used, thereby opening up many possibilities for processing.

Lokta-based paper has been in use since the 12th century, when it was used to print mantra (prayers) to put in prayers wheels and images of gods, to write the religious texts chanted by Buddhist monks and lama (priests) and to write epic tales.  Until 1959 it was used for all official government correspondence and even today land ownership papers (lal purja) and legal application at courts must be written on Nepali kagaj (lokta paper).

In each of lokta’s two harvest seasons—January to May and September/October—the elected executive committees of community forest users’ groups determine in a democratic and ecologically-friendly fashion who should harvest the lokta and which area of their forest is ready to cut. The disadvantaged, including the poorest of the poor, are given priority. For harvesters of government forests, the District Forest Office issues permission to cut lokta in selected areas; it also fines those who cut branches less than one inch in diameter. After cutting and stripping the plants of its outer bark, harvesters then deliver the dried inner fibres to processing centres, where it is weighed and payment made according to local rates. 

At the processing centres, semi-permanent (no work is done in the monsoon months from June to September) employees and additional workers hired at a per-paper-sheet-made rate treat raw bark in batches of five dharni or approximately 12.5 kg.  The fibres are soaked overnight, rinsed to remove the plant’s characteristic black spots and other impurities, and boiled for three hours in a drum with caustic soda to soften it into pulp.  After being rinsed again to remove the soda, it is pounded with wooden mallets. The pulp (in a quantity judged to meet one of the four weight categories—40, 20, 10 and 5 gram per 20 x 30 inch sheet) is then placed in framed screens, agitated to spread it evenly and allowed to dry. 

The dried paper is bundled in kori (bundles of 200 sheets weighing approximately four kg, or one-third the raw weight) and sent to the main office in Kathmandu, where it is re-sorted according to weight and further processed, whether with colours.

Natural and Chemical Colors:

We use saffron, indigo, pomegranate skin, rhubarb, the inner part of the acacia tree and walnut skin to dye our papers in soft tones, also sprinkling sheets with flower petals and mint leaves, radish seeds, chili and other spicy seeds. Silkscreen ornamentations include traditional Tibetan motifs and gold and silver imprints of the Bodhi leaf or bamboo, flower, wave patterns. We produce beautiful boxes in combinations of color and design that incorporate hemp, bone, wood closures. Our incense and altar sets disseminate the aura of Tibetan Buddhism. Thangkas mounted on our handmade paper instead of brocade are a new introduction.

Presently we produce and export the following items:

• Handmade Paper Products
• Natural handmade sheet paper
• Natural dye
• Chemical Dye
• Ecologically oriented papers incorporated flower and leaf combinations
• Tie dye
• Seeds, straw and combinations
• Natural splotch paper
• Wood block and silk screen prints
• Gold and silver patterns, butterfly and Bodhi leaf printed on natural and chemically dyed sheet papers
• Natural and dyed deckle sheet paper
• Envelopes, notebooks and boxes of handmade paper
• Natural and dyed recycled commercial sheet paper, laid and bamboo texture

All our products are available both in vegetable and Chemical colors:

Since all our products are handmade we give a lot of employment opportunities to the people not machines. Thus directly or indirectly about 200 under privileged people of both the rural and urban areas are benefiting from this task, (Business).

We also export other types of Handicraft goods like Kasmira Shawl, Tibetan incense, Incense Candle and much more. Please tell us your requirements and place your sample order.