African Plant Paper Taurai Jute 23 1/2 x 17 1/2    Item #: 728 001 002 

Eco Africa Savannah Papers - Taurai Jute Ridge
This paper has great texture for a range of decorative applications. Taurai Jute Ridge combines neutral color with sophisticated texture and is made from finely ground recycled cardboard. To make each sheet, the paper pulp is poured over a mold made of bamboo African mats normally used for window or floor coverings, resulting in a beautiful deeply ridged surface. 4 natural deckle edges.

(1) sheet, 23-1/2" x 17-1/2", 300 g/m²

About Eco Africa Handmade Plant Papers
Wonderfully textural, these papers are handcrafted by women in the African republic of Zimbabwe. Using simple papermaking equipment donated by the Eco Africa cooperative, women are taught their craft by master papermakers.

Papermaking is a relatively new craft in Southern Africa. It developed as a cottage industry to help impoverished villagers, mainly women with young families, to get by and feed their loved ones. The raw materials are readily available in the form of wild plants and shrubs that grow free and plentifully around their villages and communities. Programs were set up to provide simple, basic equipment for grinding the fiber into pulp and then form the resulting pulp into sheets. Drying of the sheets was (and often still is) carried out by hanging or laying them out to dry, often alongside the family washing.

The women use traditional household tools and ecologically sound production methods. The papermaking projects create jobs in an area with little economic activity and develop skills that help women achieve financial independence for themselves and their families.

All materials used are recycled or renewable: cotton trimmings from textile factories and plants that grow wild and plentifully near the women's homes. The indigenous plants include river reed, elephant grass, wild fig, sisal, and sun hempùfiber sources that reduce dependence on forests, woodlands and wildlife habitat and reduce waste to landfills.

Nearly all papers are tree-free, using grasses, wild shrubs and bushes. In the case of banana papers, only the dead leaves of the banana tree are used. The tissue papers are the exceptions, made with cultivated mulberry tree bark that gives the tissue papers their crisp hand and semi-transparency.

Each sheet of paper is made from 100% cellulose plant fiber, is acid-free, lignin-free and pH neutralùideal for creating lasting artwork.

ôI am enjoying every moment with Eco Africa and my workmates. Working together and sharing ideas is our motto. àLife has really changed from a housewife to someone who is now able to stand alone and it makes me very proud to be a part of Eco Africa since I am now able to look after my children.™ ùTaiti Marondera, 36