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Lokta paper
Lokta paper, also known as Nepali kagaj or Nepali paper, or incorrectly as rice paper, is a wildcrafted, handmade artisan paper made in Nepal from the bark of two of the species of the shrub Daphne. The paper was used historically in Nepal for religious scriptures and government documents, and is now used for notebooks, religious scripture, arts including painting, and for some government documents.
Nepalese handmade lokta paper is made from the fibrous inner bark (phloem) of two species of mid- to high-elevation evergreen shrubs belonging to the Thymelaeaceae family: Daphne bholua and Daphne papyracea. Both bushes, and the paper made from them, are called "lokta".
Lokta bushes proliferate in open clusters or colonies on the southern slopes of Nepal's Himalayan forests between 1,600 and 4,000 m (c.5,250–13,000 ft).
Historically lokta paper was hand-made in the rural areas of Nepal, most notably in the Baglung District. Today raw lokta paper is produced in more than 22 districts in Nepal, but finished lokta paper products are produced only in Kathmandu Valley and Janakpur.
Lokta paper's durability and resistance to tearing, humidity, insects and mildew have traditionally made it the preferred choice for the recording of official government records (see photo on right) and sacred religious texts.
The earliest surviving lokta paper document appears in Nepal's National Archives in Kathmandu in the form of the sacred Buddhist text, the Karanya Buha Sutra. The Karanya Buha Sutra was written in Lichchhavi script and block printed on lokta paper and is estimated to be between 1,000 and 1,900 years old.
With the introduction of paper craft imports from Tibet in the 1930s, the production of handmade lokta paper began to decline. By the 1960s competition from commercially mass-produced paper from India placed the Nepalese handmade paper industry in a state of terminal decline with only a few families in Baglung and neighboring Parbat District retaining the traditional knowledge of handmade lokta paper production.
In the 1970s interest in rejuvenating lokta craft paper making occurred as the tourism industry in Nepal began to grow. Moreover, an effective conservation program was started in 1970 for the development of national parks and wildlife reserves in Nepal to provide raw materials for the development of forest based industries such as the production of lokta paper.
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Lokta paper
Lokta paper, also known as Nepali kagaj or Nepali paper, or incorrectly as rice paper, is a wildcrafted, handmade artisan paper made in Nepal from the bark of two of the species of the shrub Daphne. The paper was used historically in Nepal for religious scriptures and government documents, and is now used for notebooks, religious scripture, arts including painting, and for some government documents.
Nepalese handmade lokta paper is made from the fibrous inner bark (phloem) of two species of mid- to high-elevation evergreen shrubs belonging to the Thymelaeaceae family: Daphne bholua and Daphne papyracea. Both bushes, and the paper made from them, are called "lokta".
Lokta bushes proliferate in open clusters or colonies on the southern slopes of Nepal's Himalayan forests between 1,600 and 4,000 m (c.5,250–13,000 ft).
Historically lokta paper was hand-made in the rural areas of Nepal, most notably in the Baglung District. Today raw lokta paper is produced in more than 22 districts in Nepal, but finished lokta paper products are produced only in Kathmandu Valley and Janakpur.
Lokta paper's durability and resistance to tearing, humidity, insects and mildew have traditionally made it the preferred choice for the recording of official government records (see photo on right) and sacred religious texts.
The earliest surviving lokta paper document appears in Nepal's National Archives in Kathmandu in the form of the sacred Buddhist text, the Karanya Buha Sutra. The Karanya Buha Sutra was written in Lichchhavi script and block printed on lokta paper and is estimated to be between 1,000 and 1,900 years old.
With the introduction of paper craft imports from Tibet in the 1930s, the production of handmade lokta paper began to decline. By the 1960s competition from commercially mass-produced paper from India placed the Nepalese handmade paper industry in a state of terminal decline with only a few families in Baglung and neighboring Parbat District retaining the traditional knowledge of handmade lokta paper production.
In the 1970s interest in rejuvenating lokta craft paper making occurred as the tourism industry in Nepal began to grow. Moreover, an effective conservation program was started in 1970 for the development of national parks and wildlife reserves in Nepal to provide raw materials for the development of forest based industries such as the production of lokta paper.
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