Paper, ink and fibre from a single plant! ~Paper making with ramie leaves~ скачать в хорошем качестве

Paper, ink and fibre from a single plant! ~Paper making with ramie leaves~

苧 (karamushi, ramie, Boehmeria nivea) has a long tradition in Japan, as well as in other east asian countries, as a source of bast fibres. In fact the use of ramie goes back thousands of years, dating back to the Joumon period. During the decades following the end of the Second World War, ramie production in Japan seems to have reached large industrial levels, but since then production has dwindled, leaving only a single village still producing today. The decline in production of ramie fibres, like many other natural materials, is likely due to the competition from synthetic materials. However, the environmental and health impacts of the latter is getting clearer by the day. Thus the urgency of reviving the production and use of natural materials, including ramie, cannot be overemphasized. This is the context in which I put my research into the cultivation, harvesting, processing and usage of ramie. I want to find a use for every section in the ramie plant. Multiple ramie end products (not just fibre), makes harvesting and processing more efficient because you get more for relatively less work. This could encourage people to grow and use ramie. Up to now, the uses of ramie of which I know of are as follows, ・Bast fibres (for string, nets, textiles etc) ・Paper (made from the leaves with waste bast fibres added as a strengthener) ・Tea (made by adding hot water to the leaves) ・Ink (basically made by evaporating most of the water in the tea) ・Vegetable (leaves and the pith are edible in my experience) It would be interesting to work in this manner for every plant. Especially now that we have such advanced technology, we can analyze and process plant materials in ways that were impossible in the past. All we need is a paradigm shift. The understanding that synthetic material is a suicide pill, and that pursuing natural materials is our only hope.