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- Researching traditional papermaking and book arts
- Revitalizing traditional Tibetan hand papermaking by providing training for teachers and students in Tibet through our partnership with the Jatson Chumig Special Welfare School in Lhasa
- Promoting environmental responsibility by introducing the recycling of waste paper and the use of agricultural alternatives to the traditional Tibetan papermaking fibers
Paper Road/Tibet has worked with Tibetan Handicraft Industry, Kathmandu,since 1995, assisting the introduction of their products in the United States while encouraging their emphasis on traditional Tibetan design.
Organized by a group of four individuals from throughout the United States, the Paper Road/Tibet Project has received funding from the Ambassador's Fund, Embassy of Canada to Beijing; the Everest Environmental Project, The Cottonwood Foundation, the Threshold Foundation, two anonymous foundations and individual contributions.
About PRT's "parent" organization:
Crossing Over Consortium, Inc. is a non-profit for international exchange and education about prints, papermaking and the book arts that was established by the individuals involved in the overseas exhibition, Crossing Over/Changing Places. The exhibition, organized by Jane M. Farmer, featured the artwork that resulted from collaborations in the four mid-Atlantic non-profit projects that are represented in the Consortium. 
The exhibition traveled to 21 venues in 14 European countries. Artists and facilitators were sent to nearly every venue to conduct collaborative workshops with local artists. Artists were brought from the Czech republic, the Republic of Slovenia, the Republic of Croatia, the Republic of Bulgaria, the Republic of Latvia, the Republic of Estonia, Finland, the Republic of Hungary and Greece to participate in programs and in collaborative art projects in the four US projects. The final venue, in October-November, 1997 at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, DC included artworks representing the exchange collaborations in Europe and America and featured a collaborative print and paper workshop set up in the galleries to conduct collaborative workshops for Washington area students ranging from elementary school to university level. The exhibition and exchange was funded, in large part by the United States Information Agency as well as by the Trust for Mutual Understanding, the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency and by other private foundations and individuals. Crossing Over Consortium, Inc. is currently organizing an international conference and publication on the use of hand papermaking as a micro-enterprise tool.
About Tibetan Handicraft Industry:
Tibetan Handicraft Industry, based in Kathmandu, Nepal uses traditional fibers from the daphne family to make the sheets of paper in the high mountain villages on the Nepali side of the Himalaya, the same way it was made there and in Tibet for hundreds of years. At the factory in Kathmandu the sheets are dyed, block-printed and prepared to be sold as sheets or made into paper products such as journals, stationery packages, photo albums and photo frames. In the Himalayan tradition, the paper mold is floated in a pool of clear water, pulp is poured into the mold, the fibers are distribute evenly and the mold is lifted carefully out of the water. The newly formed sheet is left to dry in the sun, on the mold. The dried sheets are then prepared to be used to create the varied group of paper products marketed by THI.
Tibetan Handicraft Industry is the largest and most sophisticated papermaking company in the Tibetan exile community. Using traditional Himalayan style handmade papers from mountain villages near the border of Tibet, the company produces dyed and decorated sheets and paper products at their 25-person factory in the Dhumbari area of Kathmandu, Nepal. The three owners, Samten Lama, Nimto Sherpa and Nima Sherpa and their company are concerned about the environment and the sustainability of the harvesting of the Lokta fibers they use. A portion of the company's profits are donated to the Nepali organization that is researching and promoting sustainable harvesting of the Lhokta fibers. THI is also conscious of the importance of preserving the uniquely Tibetan htmlects of their paper heritage and does so by utilizing traditional Tibetan designs in their products. The company has clients in the United Kingdom, Europe and the United States. Members of the THI staff have and will continue to serve as teachers at the Jatson Chumig Special Welfare School in Lhasa, working with members of the Paper Road/Tibet project.
Links to workshops involved in the Consortium:
Pyramid Atlantic, Riverdale, MD
Lower East Side Printshop, New York City, NY