relaxing time for staff

gorgeous girls, lots of giggling.

This young boy , 12 years old, was
beautifully dressed in traditional garb and
he was one of the 'brave' ones to talk to me!
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I wanted to find some nice papers for gift wrappping
and we visited one of the largest papermaking businesses
in town. I learned papermaking in the Phillipines in the
early 90's and it was a pleasure to re-aquaint myself
with the process.

scooping the vat with the paperpulp.

drying the sheets...

The local fibre used for the paper, Lokta, has
special qualities. It is extremely strong and the
paper can be re-wetted without it falling apart.
These ladies are making crinkled paper,
dipping the paper in water and rolling it up
into a little sausage. After drying the'sausage'
is undone and the paper has a lovely crinkled
effect. The paper can be finished with dyeing,
printing, batik, handpainting or a combination of these.

My rainbow stash!

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Saturday is the day-off day here
and it provided me with some time to go to town.
Kathmandu is a rabbit warren of little streets
and I love observing the local colour.