Mulberry's contribution to paper

One of the excursions in Samarkand is to a paper factory where mulberry bark is made into handmade paper. Its named the Samarkand Koni Ghil Meros – it’s in Koni Ghil village, say 10 kms from the town.

As usual, the first thing we were asked to do was pay a sum of 15,000 Som around $2.50 each. We had not been told that when we began the journey so I said that it would be adjusted against any purchases. If we did not buy, then fine, we would pay.

I have seen handmade paper mills in India and elsewhere and this was on a far smaller scale. The staff appeared to be undertaking labour to earn their salaries rather than enjoying creating something interesting. The shop itself had limited items on sale so we ended up paying the entry fee at the end.

There is not much to write about how paper is created – have look at the photos as they are self explanatory. I did not take notes due to the language problem. 

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