Plain Lokta Paper

For over 1000 years handmade paper has been produced in the mountainous area of Nepal. The raw material is collected in the wild, taking care not to disturb the plants roots and the bark of the Daphne Cannabina or Daphne Papyracea bush, locally know as ‘Lokta’ is used for paper making. The bark gathered at high altitudes of 6500 to 9500 feet and carried down to villages where local paper-makers clean and boil it twice. The boiled bark is beaten with wooden mallets, producing a soft pulp which is poured over screened wooden frames floating in a pond, and spread evenly by gently shaking. The frame is then removed and dried in the Himalayan sunshine and the resulting paper peeled off the frame. After harvesting, the Lokta bush naturally regenerates, reaching full maturity again in six to seven years, thus preserving the fragile forest ecology of Nepal, as well as giving continued work to the many mountain villages.