: Arunachal Is Reviving Its 1000-YO Art of Making Paper That Doesn’t Harm Trees #IndiaNEWS #Arunachal Pradesh In February 2020, Maling Gombu, a Tawang-based social worker and lawyer, wrote to the

Arunachal Is Reviving Its 1000-YO Art of Making Paper That Doesn’t Harm Trees #IndiaNEWS #Arunachal Pradesh
In February 2020, Maling Gombu, a Tawang-based social worker and lawyer, wrote to the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) — a statutory body dedicated to the development of village industries, about the potential of a 1,000-year-old paper-making craft of the Monpa tribe in Arunachal Pradesh that was languishing.
Taking note of his letter, the KVIC took appropriate actions. Following months of planning, which was abruptly halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the KVIC launched a Monpa handmade paper making unit on 25 December at an erstwhile abandoned government building in Tawang. Called ‘Mon Shugu’, this fine-textured handmade paper is an integral part of Monpa history.
To make Mon Shugu, the inner fibrous bark of the Shugu Sheng shrub (Daphne papyracea) is dried, boiled with a solution of ash, made into pulp and then cut into sheets of paper. The process of making this paper is entirely organic with no chemical additives. This naturally processed paper possesses strong tensile strength and is durable as well.
“It has been observed that the harvesting of the bark starts from March to April and continues till December before flowering and fruiting. During the reproductive stage, people do not harvest it, keeping in mind that there should be no disturbance in natural regeneration and also because there are other alternate resources. Bark harvested during the earlier part of a year is used for paper-making the rest of the year. To make 1-1. 5 kilo of bark about four to five plants are required but it varies with the size of the plant. It has been estimated that about 20 to 30 minutes is required to harvest the same amount of bark. At least two sheets of paper (62cm long and 51cm wide) can be made from the bark of one plant,??? notes a March 2006 paper titled — A Traditional Source of Paper Making in Arunachal Pradesh.
During the making of Mon Shugu. (Image courtesy PIB)
A canvas for Buddhist scripts
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