PROCESS & TECHNIQUE The very basis of the ranjitkars' craft are the carved wooden blocks used during the process of printing. Each printer has a wide variety of carved blocks of varied patterns. These blocks are made of seasoned dar wood - this wood does not warp or bend even when moist. Soft wood is also used in Nepal to make wood blocks. The dimensions of the wooden block, on an average, are 18 x 13 cm; the blocks are fitted with a handle. The cloth used for printing are of the following varieties: nainsut, markin, malmal, khaddar, and dambarkumari (a variety of cloth that is mostly used by women). Blouses, saris, belt cloths (patuka), etc. are made out of dambarkumari cloth which is somewhat finer than khaddar. The gunyu and cholo traditionally given to young girls are usually made of gawun cloth - this is full of designs, with a red, blue, or black background. Gawun cloth is a favourite with women in the hilly areas. They wear khaddar or dambarkumari saris in their daily life, while the gawun sari is carefully preserved for festive occasions.

The first step is to remove the starch used during the process of sizing the cloth. This starchy matter needs to be thoroughly removed with a good wash so that the cloth is ready to accept the colour dyes. The cloth is then folded and placed on a wooden anvil (dashi) and pounded with a wooden hammer. The hammer - made of a heavy wood called chilaune - is about 12 inches in length and is 5"-6" in circumference. After pounding, the cloth is completely smoothened and ready for printing. Three to four layers of jute are evenly placed on the printing table, and covered with a woollen spread. This padding allows for an even spread of colour and print on the fabric. The block receives the dye from the dye (pa) box. This box, made of wood, in a size of about 10" x 8" x 1.5", is layered with jute and is covered with a fine soft cotton sheet, colloquially called astar. The purpose of this astar is to make the wooden block receive only the correct amount of dye. After the ranjitkar has poured the required amount of dye into the pa box he is ready to start printing. Traditional ranjitkars who, for centuries, used natural dyes that they made themselves, have now begun to use imported dyes and colours. The fabric for printing is spread tight on the jute and woollen layers on the wooden table. The ranjitkar gently presses the wooden block on the pa box, and then applies - with even weight - the block on to the cloth. In this manner, the design is and printed on the plain cloth. An experienced printer can print about 15-20 saris, each 8 m, in one day. The dot and line patterned design is made by the Newar chippahs settled in east Nepal. To print five 40 x 80 cm cotton lengths, the chippah firstly prepares a black dye from 200 g of mustard seed powder, 200 g of millet flour, and 1,000 g of iron dust. These are put into a clay jar, covered with water and stirred once a week for two to three 2 to 3 weeks. A second liquid is prepared by immersing the leaves of asuro (Adhatoda vasica) in water in a clay jar for a week to become a yellow juice. The cotton cloth is soaked in water, rubbed with crushed myrobalan paste, then dried, folded, and beaten. The wood block with the carved out dot/line pattern is printed with the first mixture, giving the black background. The second block, with stripes wide enough to cover the dot pattern, is printed over the dot pattern with a mixture prepared from one of the yellowish asuro liquid into which 20 gm of mineral salt (khar) is mixed. When it starts to effervesce, two to three drops of mustard oil are added. The printed cloth is dried in the sun before it is submerged in a madder dye (powdered madder plus water) and simmered for 5-10 minutes, resulting in black/brown background, red/brown background, red/brown lines, and white dots (which have been prevented from accepting colour by the asuro liquid). Today the cloth is worn mostly by the older generation of Limbu and Rai.

SYMBOLS & MOTIFS The motifs and patterns used draw inspiration from well-known and symbolic objects. Printing patterns are numerous and are generally referred to as butta, a floral motif - these include fish motifs, stars, flowers, lines, and dots and a rich combination of small geometric patterns, often arranged diagonally. Each characteristic and easily recoginisable pattern and print has its own lyrical name individually assigned to it, like chilpa, butwali, mujia, dhakka, and dambarkumari. The prints, patterns, and colours used are specific and characteristic of the community that does them, thereby making the wearer instantly recoginisable. In the same way that the black sari of Lalitpur identifies the Jyapuni women agriculturalists, so the chippa sari instantly identifies the women of the hill regions. Traditionally Nepalese parents offer saris and blouses called gunyu and cholo to their daughters between the age of 7 and 11, or before they reach puberty. DEVELOPMENTS A relatively new development is the use of locally produced lokta bark paper, printed with the block prints of Nepali, Tibetan, and Chinese deities. They are sold as pictures or are sold as calendars, cards, and lanterns.

HISTORY & ORIGIN While there is no scholarly consensus on the origin of prayer flags, it appears that they pre-date Buddhism. It is most likely that they originated in the Himalayas, in Tibet, with the Bonpo culture. The Dalai Lama has said that when Buddhism travelled from India to Tibet, the Tibetan Buddhists assimilated the prayer flag tradition. The Bonpo prayer flags, 2,500 years ago, bore this message: 'May the horse of good fortune run fast and increase the power of life, influence, fortune, wealth and health.

PROCESS & FORMATS Skilled wood-block carvers, usually monks or lamas in Nepal and Tibet, carve the wooden hand-blocks required to print the prayer flags, as a form of spiritual practice. Squares of cloth, in each of the Five Elements/ Five Buddha Families colours, are printed in a single colour, usually black, and sewn on a cord in groups of five as each rolled set comprises a minimum of five flags. The sets of colours are repeated in multiples of five. There are several styles of flag sets: they may be horizontal (Lung ta) or vertical (Dar cho) flag sets. MOTIFS & IMAGES The designs are reproduced on the prayer flags through hand blocks; the printing ink used is black in colour. The images on the prayer flags may be of the Buddha, the bodhisattvas, the Goddess Tara, or the Rimpoches; animals, and the lotus are also important motifs. The eight auspicious symbols that appear on many of the sets are the: the two fish, conch shell, parasol, furled banner, the Wheel of Teaching that the Buddha turned, the Eternal Knot, the lotus, and the Treasure Vase of Sacred Water filled with the nectar of immortality. Usually the symbol of the Wind Horse appears at the centre with the Wish Fulfilling Jewel on its back. On the corners are printed the four supernatural creatures of Buddhism: the garuda, the dragon, the tiger, and the snow lion. Sacred mantras accompany the images and add their weight to the message(s) being borne on the winds.

TRADITIONS & USES These prayer flags are raised to mark auspicious occasions, particularly the New Year or lo sar, the Tibetan New Year, which normally falls in mid- to late February. Prayer flags are believed to be activated by the wind that moves them. In this, they function in a similar way to the prayer wheels. It is common to write a person's name or the birth or wedding date of a person on one of the prayer flags to personalise it. As the wind carries the prayers off the cloth and into the heavens, the blessings are released to assist those who hang the flags and to benefit all beings. It is considered a sign of respect to keep the prayer flags off the ground and to have clear, beneficial intentions as they are being hung. As the cloth frays and the printed images fade and are worn out, they are often burned, to release the last expression of prayer. It is also common in Nepal to see old, tattered flags side by side with new ones, left to the elements.

The imported wool is first machine carded and then spun by hand. The traders and exporters of hand-knitted products give bulk orders to the entrepreneurs or thekedars (intermediaries) who in turn purchase wool from wool traders located mostly in Chhetrapati near Thamel. An individual thekedar distributes the knitting jobs to 20 to 30 home-based women workers and the finished knitted products are then collected from the women workers and supplied to the traders and exporters. DEVELOPMENTS Angora wool farming and production of angora wool products is a relatively recent development in Nepal where the environment has proved to be conducive to successful breeding of the angora rabbit. As in any new venture, there have been innumerable technical problems, due mainly to spinning defects. However strenuous efforts are being made to overcome these problems. Efforts are being made to upgrade the spinning process by blending angora wool with other wool, like pashmina and sheep's wool, and thereby ensure an upgradation in this project LOCATION Catering largely for the tourist and export trade, women - based at home - are employed in knitting work in areas like Thamel, Sankhu, Bhaktapur, Jorpati, Gokarna, Harisiddhi, Thimi, Lubhu, Chapagaon, Dallu, Swoyambhu, Kirtipur, and Banepa.

HISTORY & TRADITION Sri Lanka has always been a predominantly Buddhist nation, and among the practices associated with religion and religious leaders, is that of kathina robes worn by Buddhist priests. A particularly sacred and meritorious act was the presentation to the sangha or the order of the Buddhist priests a set of kathina robes spun, woven, and made up in a single day on the occasion of the close of vas or the Buddhist Lent. Kings and other members of royalty also performed this ceremony, 'employing hundreds of thousands of persons in jobs like picking cotton, weighing it, converting it into balls, spinning, weaving, washing, cutting into pieces, stitching, dyeing (from the treatise Rupavaliya, trans., p.48). It has been recorded that King Parakrama Bahu II offered no less than 80 such robes to the priesthood, in memory of the 80 chief disciples of the Buddha. 'The learned king gathered together the inhabitants of Lanka - a great multitude of men and women - and set them all to work to prepare the cotton and other essentials and speedily finished the work of the robes. And he caused the eighty kathina robes to be given in the course of a single day.' (From the treatise Mahavamsa, Ch. LXXXV.) The king continued this practice on many other occasions. He was not alone in this - several other members in society obtained merit in the same way. On many such occasions, the ladies of the household lent a hand in the spinning of the yarn; the women were, however, not involved in weaving. The cloth makers have been famed for making elaborate canopies to cover relic caskets and to provide shade for royalty during processions. Some of them were about 45 feet x 20 feet in size. All these are being preserved in the Buddhist temples, which have become repositories of documents and gifts of valuable collections of textiles over time. THE BERAVAYO & THE SALAGAMAYO Traditionally, weavers in Sri Lanka have been divided into two groups: the beravayo, indigenous weavers who were also musicians and astrologers; and the salagamayo who migrated from the south of India and were famed for their fine gold-woven cloths. It is narrated that during the rule of Vijaya Bahu III of Dambedeniya, an emissary sent to south India by him brought back eight master weavers; these eight weavers laid the foundation for the salagamayo in Sri Lanka. Owing to their falling into disfavour with Kandyan kings at a later date, the salagamayo were compelled to move from the interiors of the country and settle down along the south-western coast. While the beravayo weavers have, from time immemorial, made plain hand-spun cottons characteristic of the Kandyan region, remaining unaffected by changes in fashion or the influence of Indian weavers, the salagamayo wove fabrics of a better quality and were engaged mainly in clothing royalty and others of high rank with their fine gold-woven material. Some form of social distinction thus evolved, wherein the salagamayo were considered to be superior to the indigenous weavers engaged in creating garments for the community at large. Weaving was never the primary profession of indigenous weavers, who were chiefly musicians who played according to feudal customs on state occasions and during the Kandyan Pageant in honour of the Temple of the Tooth Relic or Perahera. They engaged themselves in weaving only in their leisure time to meet personal needs. They bartered some of their woven creations to obtain other items; their most elaborate woven creations were offered to temples.

  RAW MATERIALS, PROCESS & TECHNIQUES Cotton is mainly grown in the Hen or Chenas or the dry fields of the Kandyan region. The yarn is of two types - the large long-lasting variety and the dwarf annual variety called bala kapu. Cotton from the Kapok tree is used unbleached in the textile-production process. The cotton so picked is not spun in the field; it is taken home and dried and cleaned in large quantities. It is freed from the seeds by passing it through the rollers of the kapu kapana yantraya, a small machine that resembles a mangle. It is then carded by hipping with a pulun talanava or bow and then lightly rolled into tufts ready for spinning. Spinning is done mainly by women, while weaving is done by both men and women. A tuft of cotton is held in the left hand and thread is spun from it on to a long weighted spindle or idda. The ends rest on a pod or coconut shell on the ground. This spindle is turned by the motion of the right hand against the thigh or by the fingers. The thread winds itself round the big end. A group of women gather around for the spinning process and it is done with a lot of joy and friendly spirit amidst songs sung by all of them. The thread is then unwound on to a conical reel (hulu deva) made of split bamboo, after which it is wound on to a madava or a larger reel made of bamboo and string. Then it is wound onto a bobbin or harassala, ready to be laid onto the shuttles. The winding onto the bobbins is accomplished with the aid of a harassal ambarana yantraya, a winding machine consisting of a wheel with a string connecting it to a small rod that carries the bobbin; when the wheel is turned, the bobbin revolves rapidly and the reel is discharged onto it. The thread that is required for the warp is wound off the bamboo and string reel directly to form a skein. This skein is laid on a temporary frame of sticks in a process known as dig-gahanava; this gives the required length of the warp. The weaver walks up and down along this framework disposing of the thread upon it with the help of a little forked stick or padu kule. When this process is completed the skeins are lifted off and rods are passed through the ends; this is laid horizontally a couple of feet above the ground and is kept on the stretch by strings attaching the rods to the posts at each end. Strung bows or het-li are passed through the warp to prevent tangling and to preserve the lease or angle on which it lies. The warp is accurately sized on both sides with a starchy decoction in a process described as nal velanava, after which the threads are brushed, carefully separated, and arranged through the palal lanava process. The number of threads depends on the width of the cloth required. Ordinarily about 120 threads are taken as a span; when it is finally dry the warp is lifted up and readjusted on the loom itself. The cloth-beam of the loom has a groove into which the rod carrying the warp is laid which is held tightly when a turn is given to the beam. For the process of threading through the heddles and reed, the threads are broken one by one and rejoined after the process is completed. The length of the warp is usually made sufficient for two cloths in order to prevent this process from being repeated too often. In Sri Lanka, the looms are known as aluva. The process of weaving is quite similar to that prevalent in India. It is set up in an open shed or al-ge on a platform or al-pila, attached to the outer verandah or porch or pila of the weaver's house; one of the rooms in the house is used as a storage room for materials, tools, and accessories. For weaving plain cloth the shuttle or nadava is thrown to and fro while alternate threads of the warp or nul-heda are separated by the heddles or alu-vela (aluva); these are moved by pedals or pa-meduma made of coconut-shell (pol-katuva): these hang down into a space or al-vala beneath the loom in which the weaver's feet move up and down. The heddles are attached to alu-kampaha, narrow pieces of wood that resemble the beam of a scale and are suspended by the middle to the beam above. In Sinhalese looms, two heddles are commonly used to separate the alternate warp threads. The weft is pressed home by a sleay or reed-frame, which is suspended from a beam above just like the heddles. The sleay (also rodu lella) has three parts: the poruvata or upper piece held by the weaver; the yattinan gal lella or lower piece below the web; and the alu-karala or teeth which are thin slips of cane through which warp threads are passed. Several pieces of equipment, like the pit-looms, shuttles, pirns, and heddles, are often made by the weavers. When geometrical patterns are woven, the necessary warp threads are picked up with a narrow lathe or a weaver's sword (sema lella). A wider lathe is then inserted and turned up sideways to form a 'shed' for the passage of the shuttle. Before the sword is pulled out again, slips of cane are passed between the separated warp threads behind the heddles. Here they accumulate and preserve the pattern to aid in the weaving-process. As the work progresses, it is wound by quarter turns on a square cloth-beam or on-kanda that is next to the weaver. The tension of the warp is regulated by a cod, which passes round a post (man-kanuva) at the remote end of it and then to the weaver's right hand near which it is fastened. This rope then passes through a bird-shaped block or 'kurulla' between the post and the web. This wooden bird bobs up and down as the work goes on. There is no thread-beam, but only a rod on which the warp threads are strung so that the warp is stretched out at full length while the work goes on. The web is kept tightly stretched at the near end by an arrangement of two crossed canes or katumal-heda of which the two ends next to the weaver are connected by a tight thread and the other two have pin-points which pass into the web and keep it stretched. Moveable thread-loops regulate the tension. The warp is supported at a point not far behind the heddles by a horizontal bar called alkanuve lella. A freshly woven piece of loom-woven cloth is called alvala redda. The colours of the cloth vary, depending on the colour of the yarn, which is usually dyed red, blue, or black using traditional mineral and vegetable dyes.

  MOTIFS AND DESIGNS The designs used in traditional weaving were distinctive, and hence informative, sociologically and culturally. During the Kandyan period, the costumes and dresses of officials were critical in identifying them in service. Along with geometrical patterns, a range of designs and motifs were woven into the cloth. Some of the common designs at Talagune included the mal petta, heen mal petta, maha mal petta, ata peti mala, para mala, deti mala, katuru mala, pehena mal petta, hali dangaya, hin negi dangaya, depota lanuwa, valalu lanuwa, diyarella, bo kola, iri kondu, pannan kura, hin ratava, maha ratava, gal-piyuma, domba mala, bota pata (two triangles, situated apex to apex), and the atapota lanuwa. Irregular patterns like birds, cobras, bo-leaves or large flowers were usually inserted by hand-work (ate veda) or in a tapestry format. The design pattern is, thus, often a combination of weaving and tapestry-work.

• Bo leaf: The leaf of the Ficus Religiosa - held sacred by all the Buddhists - is prolifically used in all forms of Sinhalese arts and crafts as a motif. Variations of this motif are seen as tapestry designs in textiles.

• Katuru mala: Also known as katiri mala, this derives its name from crossing petals in a design that resembles a pair of scissors. The flower motif does not resemble any natural flower; it appears to be the creation of the craftsperson. This motif is found mainly in vaka deka (double curved form) and its variations.
• Lanuwa: This is a geometrical design, with two forms: the eka-pota lanuwa (one-ply plait design) and the depota lanuwa (chequered work or grass matting design), also known as thanthirikaya. The atatpota lanuwa has eight strands in its design and is found in Sinhalese weaving, though it is not very common.
• Para mala: This is an eight-petalled floral design, which is found frequently in the textiles woven at Talagune and is categorised as a geometrical design.
• Mal petta: This is a geometrical motif whose origin is not known. The variations of this motif are heen mal petta, maha mal petta, and thun pehena mal petta, which are widely found in textiles. This motif does not resemble any known flower in its appearance.
• Ata peti mala: This is a flower motif with eight petals; it does not resemble any naturally occurring flower. It is created as a geometrical design, widely found in woven Kandyan textiles.
• Lanugetaya: This is a plait motif, several variations of which are found in weaving. Common variations are the one ply plait and chequer work. Variations of this motif include the lanu dangaya, heen dangaya lanuwa, and valalu lanuwa.
• Bota pata: This is a geometrical motif in which two triangles are situated apex to apex.
• Gal piyuma: This is a geometrical motif, which consists of rectangles placed between two parallel lines, and is used chiefly in border designs.
• Diyarella: This is a design representation of a series of waves rising and falling in a gentle breeze. Several variations, with different degrees of elaboration, are found. Ananda Coomaraswamy calls it as the chevron or the zig-zag pattern and gives several examples of its angular forms. This design is very widely found in textile-weaving.
• Adara kondu: This is the name given to the motif where straight lines are found in the product; when this motif is found as part of textiles it is known as iri kondu.
• Bhayankaraya: This is a motif found in a lot of textiles; its origin and meaning are not known widely.

  THE PRODUCT RANGE 1. TRADITIONAL Sri Lankan clothing comprises several items that are not stitched garments but instead consist of whole pieces of cloth woven on the loom. This entails the need to make cloths of different shapes and sizes. The range of woven items includes cloth pieces that serve as garments for men (tuppoti) and women (pada, hela); aprons or bathing drawers for men (diya kacci), kerchiefs or shawls (lensu, ura mala), belts or pati; mats and quilts; sheets or etirili; carpets or paramadana, covers for chatties or floor spreads, pillow cases or kotta ura; and napkins or towels (indul kada). Other than these, common woven products include plain white, blue (kalu kangan), or red material that can be cut up for robes, jackets, caps, pillow-cases and betel leaf/nut bags. A variety of narrow braids are also made on the narrow looms, which are measured in width by the span or lakaya, and length by the carpenter's cubit or vadu riyana. Napkins were both plain and coarse, usually with embroidery on them, while handkerchieves were usually covered with pattern-work and were worn as turbans by men or they were used as a ceremonial covering for offerings.

• Somana: A particular kind of garment worn by men, somanas, are of several types, with different ones worn on different occasions. The social-status of the wearer was indicated by the type and design of the somana. The raja somana was worn by the king. Other kinds of somanas included the mudali somana and the vidane somana.
• Tuppotiya: A tuppotiya consists of a white cloth eight or nine cubits long, which comprises two pieces joined in the middle. Single widths were called padaya, and measured approximately six or seven cubits in length and four to six spans in width: these varied according to the caste of the owner. People from lower castes were allowed to wear only narrow cloths.
• Ohoriya: This was the skirt and bodice set, worn by women belonging to the higher castes. Women of lower castes wore two short cloths, one of which was wrapped around the loins, while the other was thrown over the shoulder.
• Etirilla: The etirilla is the equivalent of the Indian dhurrie, only much thinner. It is almost entirely made up of cloth covered with pattern work, with only a few pieces that have plain centres and worked borders. The usual size is about 6 feet x 3.5 feet or less, though some pieces can be as large as 11 feet x 5 feet.
• Diya kacci: This was the name given to undergarments made in one piece with a large apron in the front, a narrower flap with less ornamentation behind it, and a woven tape to tie around the waist. These also served as bathing and running costumes and are said to have originated from Kandy. Some of these garments were plain while others were very elaborately ornamented. These garments were made from special looms with double heddles or alu-vel. The looms were known as ata-vel_aluva. Special small looms were also used to make braids. The belt or pattiya of a diya kacci was sometimes made in one piece with the rest. Diya kacci were about five to six feet in length and the apron, on average, was about 1.5 X 2 feet.
• Gahoni: This was the name given to bell-shaped or skirt-shaped pieces of cloth used to cover baskets or pots of food or other offerings carried on a yoke for the king or for a temple. The appearance was that of a three-flounced skirt with each flounce having a pattern border. The 'skirt' was made up of a single, straight piece of cloth joined up with one seam and left open at both ends. One end was turned over and gathered in upon a string, thus forming the waist and two of the flounces; the third flounce was a separate piece of cloth sewn on between the two others. Belts worn over the dress were often Indian in origin.
• Ura Malaya: These are shawls, draped around the shoulder like in India.
• Welitara bedspreads: These were made of coarse yarn from Welitara and were attractively done up with traditional designs of iddamala and depota lanuva, indicative of the regional identity/ies.

2. CONTEMPORARY A wide range of products that includes curtains, furnishing materials, dress fabrics, and linens, are being woven, in tune with international standards. The textile sector has become attuned to seasonal changes in styles, designs, and modes of dress. Along with the unstitched or nominally stitched pieces of clothing that are common, ready-to-wear clothes, soft furniture, bags, and rag toys are also being made. In addition to local handloom products, which continue to be part of national and international handicraft and textile exhibitions, and of the weaving tradition, innovations in technology and in products have been introduced to combat economic constraints. International collaboration in the form of new designs and technology is being used to make yarn of superior quality. Under the guidance of some missions, a weaving centre in Weliweriya is making furnishing fabric and twill; a second training centre at Nayakakanda has produced a team of highly trained skilled weavers. Hand-woven cloth of good quality is also produced at both these centres.

TRADITIONS & USE In Nepal and Tibet, hand-made paper was traditionally used to prepare manuscripts, land registration documents, and loan and other legal documents. For all these durability has been a basic requirement. Lokta paper was used in government offices in Nepal till the coming of democracy when the offices changed over to using imported paper. This adversely affected the production of paper and a great many paper-makers lost their source of employment and livelihood. However, in the past decade, international recognition and increasing demand has resulted in immense growth in the production of lokta paper. The lokta plant cultivation provides an environmentally sound, self-sustaining, natural resource and paper-making has now become a catalyst for the empowerment of local people, especially women, by providing jobs, income, and financial independence.

Renowned for its exceptional durability and for its special texture, lokta paper is suitable for drawing, monotype, and relief printing, collage and book-making, packaging, and making lamp shades. The paper in its undyed form is a natural ivory appearance; it also has a silken texture that is extremely appealing. Lokta paper can be soaked in a dye bath and even be tie-dyed as its natural fibres prevent easy tearing, Resilient and versatile, this paper readily absorbs dyes and is available in as many shades and colours as required. Among its other characteristics is the fact that when wrinkled the creases can be ironed out. Due to the inherent quality of the plant the paper also has the advantage of being a natural insect repellent. MATERIAL The Daphne plant, from the family Thymelaeacae, comprises 70 species and grows in altitudes ranging from 1,524 meters to 2,743 meters above sea level. Small and differently shaded flowers grow on the numerous types of Daphne plants. The plant demonstrates a tremendous rope like strength when its branches are pulled: the branches, like elastic, can be coiled, twisted, and turned. It is the unusually strong inner bark that is stripped and used to make the ivory-coloured paper. Many varieties of Daphne are used for making paper, among them Daphne papyracea, Daphne bholua, Daphne cannabina, Daphne sureil, and Daphne involucrate. The bark from Daphne cannabina and the Daphne papyracea is what is commonly used in Nepal to make paper. It grows in the northern Himalayan regions at an altitude of 7000-11,000 feet. The local names for these shrubs are sikra, susu, and kagat pate, while the bark of the shrubs are known as baruwa or lokta, from which the paper derives its name. The bush is mainly found among conifers or deciduous trees. In an ideal climate the plant can reach a height of 15 feet. The stalk diameter varies between 2.5- 4" and its green leaves have a length of 2-4", with a width of 0.33-1".

It is gathered at high altitudes without destroying the fragile ecology of the Nepalese forests and is carried to the paper-making villages, often a two or three days walk down the mountains. When harvested, 10-15 feet tall plants are cut down to a size of about six to eight inches. In about approximately four to eight years the plant regenerates itself and can be cut again. The correct manner of harvesting lokta is to cut the slender stems at ground level without destroying the main root, so that new main shoots can grow and mature for another harvest. Nepalese lokta paper is prized for its strength and durability. Due to the high length to width ratio of the lokta fibre, the paper has a high tearing strength and is extremely resistant and durable. In addition, paper made from lokta withstands temperature extremes and dampness as well as attacks from insects, as the long-fibered bark contains a natural enzyme, which resists insects. Related to the Japanese mitsumata, lokta produces paper of a similar silky texture. PROCESS & TECHNIQUE The paper made by the Nepalese artisans follows a completely different process of manufacture from the paper made by their Indian neighbours. Within Nepal, however, though regional variations exist, the basic method followed remains the same. First the cutters strip the inner bark from the Daphne plant. The plant grows wild but is also especially cultivated for the making of paper This de-barking generally takes place in the months of falgun, chaitra, and baishakh (March-April)

A sickle is used to separate the knots from the strips of the Daphne inner bark; this is then dried without delay. The bark is cleaned and cut into small pieces and soaked in hot water for 5-6 hours to make is more soft and pliable. This part of the process is done near a source of water - a river or stream - as it requires plenty of water. Next, the bark is completely cleaned of any clay or dirt that is still adhering to it. The bark is then hung in tight bundles to enable the water to trickle off. An extract is prepared from the ashes produced by burning woods such as banjh, khusru, phalant, katus, and lye; water is poured into a tightly woven conical bamboo basket (doko), which acts as a sieve. The basket containing the ash extract allows the concoction to drip though. A wooden vessel, (doond) is placed below it. The filtered water obtained is initially brackish in colour; however, as more and more ash is added in the doko the filtrate below becomes gets darker in colour. This filtrate forms the alkali extract used for digesting the barks. In order to obtain the dark, alkaline liquid filtrate, the process is often repeated several times over. The dried barks are placed in a large vessel called the khadkaulo made of copper, tin, or zinc. The alkali filtrate is then poured into the vessel. The extract covers the bark. The bark is then boiled on an oven for 3 to 4 hours till it is absorbed and the fibres become soft. The khadkaulo is then slowly tilted to allow the alkaline water to pass into another vessel, leaving behind the softened bark. The bark is taken out, washed with water, and cut into small pieces with a knife. The minced bark is again placed in the khadkaunlo vessel with the alkali solution and boiled for 3 to 4 hours, or till the bark becomes soft and easily breakable. If this stage is not reached, further boiling, with an addition of more alkali solution is required. The softened bark is spread over a mat for the water to soak away.

The bark is cleaned once again with water. The boiled fibre is placed in a stone mortar or on a stone slab and pounded by hand with a conical wooden mallet known as the mungro. This pounding process takes 3 to 4 hours; water is added as and when required to further loosen and break up the fibres into a fine pulp. This laborious and rhythmic hand pounding contributes to the strength and flexibility of the sheets of paper that are ultimately created. The lokta, thoroughly pounded into a pulpy mass, is now placed in a tall cylindrical vessel and a particular amount of water added to it. This mixture is then vigorously stirred with the stirrer (madani) so that a homogeneous emulsion of pulp is formed in the water. At this stage, any dirt or foreign body in the pulp is removed. This pulp emulsion is now ready for paper-making. The paper-making wooden mould in which the fibres are made into paper consists of four wooden sticks joined together in an rectangular size frame that is fitted with a tightly stretched coarse cloth called khandi or gharbuna. The casting of paper is usually done near a stream or pond as plenty of water is needed for the process(es). A small water pit or tank is made near the source of the water. The mould is floated in the tank of water and the paper-maker ladles the pulp on to the frame either by hand or with a measuring pot that provides an estimate of the required quantity of pulp per sheet - the thickness or fineness of the paper depends upon the quantity of pulp measured out. As the pulp is poured over the frame, the mould is gently shaken to evenly disperse the fibres so that they spread uniformly over the stretched cloth. After this, the frame is taken out of the water and is held for a few minutes to drain out the excess water. It is then placed tilted on the ground and allowed to dry in the sun; in cold weather the drying is often helped by heat from nearby fires.

Once dried, the paper sheet is peeled off the cloth - the mould is ready to be reused. The dried paper is then folded and made into bundles, called dheps. A dhep usually comprises of 200 sheets of paper. Each sheet of paper has four deckle edges and is normally 20 X 26" in size and 45 grams (and above) in weight. PRODUCTS The sun-dried sheets are transported to paper factories where they are dyed, stencilled, printed upon, and transformed into attractive products or sold as paper sheets. Today, products such as greeting cards, stationery sets, notebooks, gift wrapping paper, bags, envelopes, photo frames, and a range of other items are being made in large numbers in Kathmandu Valley. LOCATION The preferred location of the paper-producing units is near the forest area where there is sufficient quantity of both the lokta and the fuel wood required in the process of paper-making. The lokta shrub grows in the north of Nepal and from the east to the far west of the country. Traditionally, the people engaged in making lokta paper were those who lived on the caravan routes leading to Lhasa in Tibet - the art of paper-making gradually spread to the western parts of Nepal specially among the Gurungs and Magars. In the eastern region, the Rais excel in this technique. Paper is produced in forested areas like Arun, Baglung, and Dailekh in the west, and Solukhumbu, Ramechap, and Barabise in the east, and is processed and sold worldwide. CREATING A SUSTAINABLE & RENEWABLE RESOURCE BASE Since lokta is the basic raw material for producing hand-made paper, a sustainable supply is essential. However, by 1984, the harvesting of lokta had led to its reduced availability within reasonable distances of paper-making communities. As a solution, a programme was initiated in 1985, which divided lokta resources into blocks and established a four-year block harvest quota for the period from 1985 to 1988. Within each block, a rotating harvest programme was introduced. In 1986, further protective measures were introduced following a more comprehensive inventory of lokta resources. The original four-year rotation cycle was changed to a cycle of six and then eight years: the time it takes for new shoots to be mature enough to harvest. Concurrent to this development and to further safeguard lokta resources, the Department of Forests introduced two improved techniques to reduce wood consumption. The first involves the use of caustic soda in the process. This reduces the quantity of wood ash required and speeds the breakdown of the lokta fibre. The second improvement is the introduction of more efficient stoves. These stove reduced fuel wood consumption by 10 to 25 per cent. In addition to these improvements, nurseries and plantations have been established in the project areas. Workshops on Nepalese hand-made paper, community development, and lokta management are frequently held in Baglung. In these workshops, the issues of environmental awareness are discussed with the local participants. The workshops stress that farmers should use only dry wood and branches to prepare the lokta fibre. These workshops also advise that caustic soda effluents not be discharged directly into rivers and nearby water sources. A measuring device that shows whether or not the lokta stems are ready for harvesting (6-7 cm in diameter or more than one meter in height) has been developed and supplied to lokta harvesters. In the high hills, the Department of Forests now works with lokta gatherers to conserve the supply of lokta shrubs. In the high valleys, forest rangers help the paper-makers protect forests and establish nurseries to supply species suitable for fuelwood. As a renewable resource, lokta now protects Nepal's fragile and threatened forest ecology.