* The green links indicate these papers are eco-friendly
Nepalese
Lokta paper is made using centuries old process that begins with the bark of a high mountain bush, called Lokta. The Lokta, daphne plant), grows wild in forests between 1,200 & 3,000 meters altitude. The plant self-regenerates making it a renewable non-timber forest product.
The bark is collected from the high mountain forest bushes and carried back to villages; the distance traveled may often be a several days' walk. The bark is boiled and cleaned, then beaten with wooden mallets to produce the fiber pulp. The pulp is then mixed with water and poured into a floating frame. It is sun dried to produce sheets of crisp long-fiber paper. The finest of the paper is then transported to the different parts of Kathmandu where skilled craft workers produce stationery, cards and gifts.
The Lokta paper is renowned for its exceptional durability and unique texture. Due to the high length to width ratio of lokta fiber, the paper has a remarkable tearing strength. In addition, Lokta paper withstands insects and temperature extremes. In Nepal, handmade Lokta paper continues to be used for the preparation of manuscripts, land registration and legal documents, for which durability over many generations is a fundamental requirement.
