Samtidigt som Chiang Mai Flower Festival (blogginlägg från den gjordes föregående år) pågår en Saa (Mulberry) Paper Festival. i byn Tonpao (nära Borsang). Tillverkningen görs av barken från Mullbärsträd. Genom flera processer, se foton samt engelska texten, skapas papper som slutligen får soltorka på ställningar av finmaskigt nät. Produkterna kan bli tavlor, album, askar, påsar med mera (ja, till och med kläder).
The bark is initially and thoroughly sun dried, to remove natural sap, before being baled for delivery to the saa paper factory. Then it is soaked in water, overnight or longer, until the bark is soft and pliable. The next step is to boil the "mush" for several hours this is done in huge drums in a mixture of water and caustic soda. The soda causes the fibres to breakdown even further and also bleaches them to an off-white color this is the natural color of saa paper. After the boiling is complete, the mixture is well rinsed in cold water to remove the soda solution and the remaining pulp is then placed in a "beating" machine, filled with cold water, which will separate the fine fibres from which the paper is made. The penultimate stage of manufacture is immersing a fine mesh screen (sieve) in the fibre filled water; the wooden framed screens are of uniform size and the fibres will cling to the mesh. The saa paper is now ready and the screen will be taken outside for the final process of sun drying. The sight of thousands of wooden framed screens drying in the sun can easily identify a saa paper factory.
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