Soon part of the packaging of our jewels will be made in this village to support local crafts in the Luang Prabang area.
The main ingredient for making this particular type of paper is the bark of mulberry trees (known locally as "Saa"). The harvested stems are cut into sticks, soaked in water and steamed to extract the strips of the inner bark. Then, these strips are dipped in an alkaline solution before they are beaten to a pulp with stone mortars and kneaded into balls.
Subsequently, a ball of pulp is dissolved within a wooden frame with a screen of fine silk on one side called a deckle, which is placed in a pool of water. The worker gently rotates the pulp to make it spread evenly and then lifts the blanket to let the water flow, leaving a thin layer of matted fibers on the screen. This process is repeated until the paper layer reaches the desired thickness. The frame is then exposed to the sun to dry and, finally, the completed sheet of paper is removed from the frame.
Saa paper can be used to make business cards, postcards, photo albums, calendars, lampshades and books. This type of paper is thick and rough but very light and porous. The textured finish of the paper is distinguished by the messy fiber that mingles with each other like cobwebs.
