The Woodlanders’ Workshop
San Cristóbal de la Casas, Chiapas
The Taller Leñateros (The
Woodlanders’ Workshop) started in
1975. It is a group of Mayan and
mestizo men and women who create
handmade paper using
ancient techniques and dyes. They
use the paper to make books about
their history, their stories, and their
culture.
This woman is telling
about what kinds of
paper are made here.
This is the inside
of a banana leaf.
It can be scraped
out and used to
make paper.
Cardboard is taken from garbage trucks and soaked to make a pulp.
You can also use parts of plants to make a pulp.
She is tearing up used office paper to recycle and make new paper.
After the paper is soaked for a long time, it gets really soft.
A real “recycling” machine is used to get water out of the
pulp.
These women are making pieces of paper by drying the pulp on
a screen and adding flowers.
She is adding flower petals to make the paper more interesting
and beautiful.
The paper is almost ready to be dried.
This is paper made from different plants such as coconuts, maguey,
and banana leaves.
This
workshop
also makes
books. These
are the covers
for a new
children’s
book about
jaguars.
The papers are dyed many different colors and used for very
special projects. Wouldn’t you like to try to make your own
paper?