Hand Made Papers

Banana Fibre Paper

Uganda is Banana Country. Not only does Uganda grow delicious sweet bananas but also green bananas or ‘Matoke’ which are the staple food for most of central and southern Uganda. Some of our paper is made using banana fibre which comes from the stem of the Banana plant (which is rather like an onion as it is made up of many layers). When the outer layer dries it can be peeled off the stem without killing the plant itself.

100% banana fibre: a dark grey/brown colour with darker speckles in it.
Recycled paper and banana fibre paper: A white paper with dark green/brown fibres and speckles.

Pineapple Top Paper

Uganda also has THE most delicious pineapples in the world! We use the
discarded tops of the pineapples which we collect from local markets and which are usually considered to be rubbish.

100% pineapple tops: A very textured paper, golden in colour.
Pineapple tops mixed with recycled paper: An almost white paper that is textured with golden leafy bits and is popular for wedding invitations.

Elephant Grass Paper

As the name suggests this is a giant, course yet luscious grass that is used
to feed cows and pigs and to stop erosion.

100% Elephant grass paper: A lovely olive green colour.
Recycled paper and Elephant Grass: Almost white with thin hair like golden threads.

Bark Cloth

This is a very special material indigenous to Uganda that comes from the bark of a fig tree called ‘omutuba’. Bark is stripped from the tree, (without killing the tree) soaked in water and then beaten with a mallet and dried. Traditionally it was used as clothing. Paper Craft uses it to cover albums, photo frames and note books and to decorate cards. It is the same colour as a ginger nut biscuit.

Papyrus Paper

Papyrus was used in ancient times and was used to make the very first paper ever. So we decided to use it on our logo. There is plenty of Papyrus in Uganda that grows on the edge of Lake Victoria but we don’t often make paper out of papyrus as it is very tough and difficult to cut.