Milestones on the Paper Road

by Tom Leech

The Friendship Highway crosses central Tibet, west from Lhasa to the border with Nepal, and despite its name, it is not always “user friendly.” But in many ways it is becoming synonymous with Paper Road. At mile marker 5145, five hundred kilometers west of Lhasa and just after another of the road’s infrequent patches of pavement ends, we turn left to begin the ascent of Pang La. That 17,000 foot pass, made a few feet higher by rock cairns and prayer flags, offers what seems an endless panorama of the Himalaya. In one of a hundred valleys below are the villages of Pasom and Chunzom, home to the newest papermakers on the Paper Road. Beyond the villages the road winds south, past Rongbhu Monastery and on to Mt. Everest basecamp.

I’m feeling good. Not only has the two months I’ve spent in Lhasa acclimatized me to these altitudes, but I’m realizing that a dream of many years is about to come true. In the next few days, traditional paper will once again be made by Tibetans within sight of Mt. Everest. What’s more, those two months have seen significant milestones set in place, putting Paper Road firmly on the map, (and securing the continuation of papermaking in Tibet_).

Besides driver Dorje and myself, the passengers are Ngawang Choegyang, Ngawang Tsultrim (age 20) and Tsebel (pronounced Tsay-bay, age 15). These two young men, along with the paper moulds roped to the roof of the Toyota, are the core of what we hope will soon be a budding cottage papermaking industry in the Rongbhu Valley. They have just completed six weeks of training at the Jatsun Chumig Welfare Special School, Paper Road’s partner and home base in Lhasa (described in our 1999 newsletter).

Paper drying on moulds in Pasom, Tibet

The remote Rongbhu valley has been a destination for Paper Road for many years. Since my first visit there in 1990, the possibility of making paper has been discussed with monks at Rongbhu Monastery. The Abbot has been good to his word, and has assigned a number of monks to study papermaking. He speaks of this as “his duty”, and shows an interest and dedication that is more than gratifying.

What makes this an ideal place to reintroduce hand papermaking to Tibet_ As fate would have it, it is one of the most frequently visited “out of the way” spots on earth. Its proximity to the world’s tallest mountain insures a steady stream of visitors. Ground zero for adventure travel, scores of land-cruisers pass through the villages each week during the non-winter months. And in contrast to the people who live in the valley, these people from all parts of the planet are not without money. That the local people could produce something of value, rooted in their own culture, of local materials (and even better—recycled from what the visitors have left behind), is a perfect formula for a successful project. Up until now all we lacked was the time and training, and this is what we were able to provide—with the help of grants from the Everest Environmental Project and the Threshold Foundation.

Our work in early August produced some magical results. Meetings were held with officials of the Qomolungma Nature Preserve, village leaders and representatives from the Rongbhu Monastery where all parties agreed to cooperate on a papermaking program. We were treated to an impromptu demonstration of wood block printing by a village elder. We visited old friends and made many new ones, and of course, we made paper. An audience of villagers, teachers and children at Chunzom School saw for the first time a craft that their grandparents knew well. I don’t think anyone there will soon forget the experience.

Sleepless In Lhasa
One doesn’t spend three months in far-away Tibet without waking up a few times in the middle of the night and asking, “What am I doing here_!” Sure, we love handmade paper, but there are other places to find it and see it being made. It’s not “just paper” that this project is about. It is the idea of offering our skills to help a culture as it tries to remake itself. It is a fascination with the mystery of how paper came to Tibet from China 1200 years ago, how Tibetans kept the original papermaking style alive and how they used paper to help sustain a noble religion with noble ideas. It is the friendships that have grown with a family that has practiced the craft for five generations, and knowing that we had something to do with keeping their pride and spirit strong. It is the sobering thought that some of the artists we have met may be the last of line, and the humility that comes from being granted a few moments of their precious time. And with some, like Sonam Norgyal, those moments have turned into many afternoons where we came to know his mannerisms, his soothing voice, his patient ways.

Working side by side with the “papermaking kids”, I fervently wish for them a future as fortunate as my past. They have already met hardships greater than anything I have ever faced. Each morning I Find them in the studio, preparing fiber, counting and examining papers, making one sheet at a time. I watch as their movements become automatic. They have learned by doing. They watch the sky for rain, ready to bring their newly cast sheets into the dry shelter of the studio. In monsoon July they made 1000 sheets. In hyper-monsoon August they made 700. These kids are on their way to becoming skilled papermakers. They have started on the Paper Road.

A Parting Thought
During the last week of August a craft fair for Tibetan artisans was held in front of the Potala. jcwss had a booth displaying its products—among them our handmade paper. No greater affirmation could have been given than when an old couple stopped to look at the papers. Touching their foreheads to the sheets they said, “We didn’t think we would ever see this again.”