Paper Making Process
The paper making starts with cleaning the bark again removing any knots or dark spots to leave only the clean white inner bark. The bark is cooked to remove organic matter and well rinsed under running water. The care taken here ensures a clean high quality sheet of finished paper. The cooked bark is then beaten with wooden mallets into a smooth paste, which is rolled into balls for easy measurement. Hand beating pressures the long fibers of Lokta and gives paper its great strength. The pulp is mixed with the right proportion of water poured into floating cloth covered from agitated to spread evenly. The evenly distributed pulp is set in place by carefully lifting the frame from the pond and the frame is then placed in the sun to dry. The surface texture of traditional paper comes from this drying on the frame. One side takes the texture of the cloth and exposed side dries out to reveal the subtle texture of the long fibers. The process requires ample fuel wood and caustic soda or potash derived from wood ash. When dry, the paper is graded, bundled and transported to Bhaktapur Craft Paper Ltd.