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IN 2007 ECO AFRICA PAPER MAKERS BEGAN TO MAKE HANDMADE PAPER FOR THE FIRST TIME
Paper making has played an important part in the histories of civilizations. Going back to the ancient Egyptians who made papyrus from reeds, paper has been used together with ink and dye to create one of the earliest forms of communication as well as for decorative purposes.
The basic raw material used by the crafters is handmade paper previously purchased from other suppliers. To meet the growing demands for paper with which to make their crafted gift products it was decided that our artisans would begin making their own paper. But the mission station did not have the space nor the facilities for the specialized requirements such as power and sufficient water supplies.
Space was generously offered on the nearby campus of Young Africa, a Netherlands funded non profit providing skills-training programs for young people. The facilities were ideal for paper making.
A master paper maker was located and sheds and equipment built including a machine called a Hollander to grind up the fibers.
In July of 2007 Eco Africa Crafts Paper-Making Workshops began operating, providing work for many more people.
By August, major power cuts started to be daily occurrences throughout Zimbabwe. As the grinding machine depended upon electricity supplied by the municipality, daily production slowed almost to a halt. The enthusiasm of the paper makers was such that they worked midnight shifts when the power was most likely to become available. But the effect on family life took its toll. Something had to be done.
In October, through the generosity of Eco Africa Social Ventures’ first donor a generator was purchased and production forged ahead once more.
Today the paper makers of Eco Africa are producing 15,000 beautiful, and unique handmade paper sheets per week
Building of the new paper-making project started in 2007 on the campus of Young Africa Skills Training Center.
The donated generator that allowed Eco Africa paper makers to keep producing papers.
Wild sisal plants are harvested from the sisal-growing regions and are just one of the types of fibers from which papers are produced. The leaves are ground up into pulp.
Scrap cardboard is collected from board merchants for recycling into handmade paper.
Piles of scrap shredded paper collected from paper merchants also waiting to be recycled into handmade paper.
Scrap cotton off-cuts are collected from clothing factories and ground up into pulp.
If the factory is making blue overalls this week then the paper makers will be making blue paper.
The grinding and pulping machine called the Hollander which, as legend has it, was invented by a man from Holland, and has been replicated in one form or another in many countries.
After the fibers have been ground into pulp it is stored in vats until it is ready to be processed. Then the pulp is poured into vats and strained through mesh molds. The fine layers of pulp are turned out onto cloth sheets in a pile and once a pile has built up they are pressed to squeeze out the excess water.
The sheets are laid out to dry before being separated from the cloth.
The papers may be dried in several differing ways. They may be spread out on the ground, or they may be hung out on wires rather like laundry.
To make Ridge Paper, instead of spreading the pulp onto plain cloth the pulp is strained onto bamboo mats giving the paper its special characteristic.
Finally the papers are pressed a second time to make them flat. The paper-making process is complete.
The bright colored papers are the ones crafted from the bright cotton fibers.
The more natural, textured papers are produced by grinding plant fibers from wild bushes and shrubs such as the sisal and jute plants and the mushani bush.
The startup paper-making team celebrating their new generator.
