Handmade Printer Paper (Katshulha)

Be different with handmade printer paper. Kathmandu Valley Co. Lokta paper is made from Lokta bushes, a non-tree fibrous plant that grows on southern slopes of the Himalayan mountains.

Strips from the inner bark are cooked into a mash which is then spread by hand over boxed screens and set to dry in the Himalayan sun. The drying process binds the fibers together creating a beautifully textured paper with one side retaining the impression of the screen with the other side presenting a naturally formed texture.

Flecks from the outer bark pepper the page and gives each page a unique look and feel.

Vegetable-Dyed with Natural Katshulha

The Katshulha 100% Lokta paper is dyed using a unique dye, but one that is found in many common items.

The dye is derived from resin created by the Kerria Lacca bug that attaches itself to Kusum (Schleichera) and Dhak (Butea) trees.

“Lac is the scarlet resinous secretion of a number of species of lac insects, of which the most commonly cultivated species is Kerria lacca.

“Cultivation begins when a farmer gets a stick (broodlac) that contains eggs ready to hatch and ties it to the tree to be infested. Thousands of lac insects colonize the branches of the host trees and secrete the resinous pigment. The coated branches of the host trees are cut and harvested as sticklac.

“The harvested sticklac is crushed and sieved to remove impurities. The sieved material is then repeatedly washed to remove insect parts and other soluble material. The resulting product is known as seedlac. The prefix seed refers to its pellet shape.”  (See Wikipedia: Lac)

Thank you for helping to preserve a 1,000 year old tradition in Nepali paper making and helping to support those affected by the earthquake that struck Nepal on April 25, 2015.

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