|  The
Cottage industry of paper making by hand has been
a source of employment for a long time in rural
area of Nepal. Rural industries have played a vital
role to improve overall economic situation of the
country. Hand made paper making industry is one
of the important rural industries of Nepal. This
industry has been widely spread over the hilly region
of the country and quite a number of people of the
rural areas depends on this industry to supplement
their farm income. Low income farm families are
engaged in hand made paper making in most places
of rural area of Nepal where raw material is available.
Handmade paper making is one of such industries
in rural areas which is based on local raw material
and labour, simple technology dispersed widely and
flowing out of the traditional skills of the people.
Hence hand made paper making industry has been one
of the most important industry in supporting the
rural economy of the country.
What is Nepali Handmade Paper
?
Hand made paper is made from the inner bark of
a wild understorey shrubs locally known as "Lokta"
or Daphne Cannabina or Daphne Papyracea which is
found at altitude of 6500 feet to 9500 feet. These
plants are observed growing gregariously in the
understorey of both coniferous and broad leafed
forests. At favourable sites it attains a height
of 10 to 15 feet with basal diameter ranging from
2 to 3 inches. The leaves are alternate green in
colour, 2 to 4 inches long and 0.5 to 1 inch wide.
The flowers are white with a sweet smelling scent.
The inner fibrous bark of this plant is the raw
material used for the making of Nepali hand made
paper. The "Lokta" or Daphne Papyracea
has characteristics of growing after cutting from
above 6 inches from the ground and becomes again
matured to cut after 6 to 8 years. Thus it preserves
the fragile forest ecology of Nepal. The long fibrous
in hand made paper is prized for its rough attractive
texture its durability, strength and its resistance
to insects.
Manufacturing Process
 The
production process of a hand made paper starts from
cooking the dried bark of "Lokta" or Daphne
Papyracea with ash or caustic soda solution. The
soften bark received after boiling is taken out
and washed with clean water to remove impurities
and then cut into small pieces with sickle. The
small pieces of bark once again cooked with the
required proportion of water. After cooking, the
soft bark is cleaned with water then kept on a plane
and flat stone for beating with wooden hammer to
turn into fine pulp. After beating the pulp is mixed
with required amount of water and stirred with wooden
ladle to form a homogenous emulsion of pulp. Then
the potful of pulp-measuring tool is put into the
frame which is being floated in the pond. As soon
as the pulp is put over the frame, the frame is
gently shaken to spread pulp evently over the frame.
The frame is then taken out from the pond and the
frame with the layer of the pulp (wet sheet of paper)
is taken away for drying in the sunlight. The layer
of pulp which becomes a sheet of paper in the frame
after drying is peeled slowly from the frame.
Nepali Paper Products Pvt. Ltd. was established
in 1991 with a group of people having more than
10 years experiences in Community Development through
the production of Nepali hand made paper and paper
products, paper technologist, printing technologist
etc. The main objective of the company is to develop
Nepali traditional Craft, industries in hand printing
and paper making so that it can be improved standard
of living of rural and urban areas of low income
families. The quality of traditional handicraft
goods made from hand made paper should be increased
with the aim of developing a growing export market,
therefore this company was established for production
& marketing of these product in local and abroad.
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