Hand-dyed silk loams, one of the Laotian Cottage Industries (28 December, 2005)
Cottage Industries form a living heritage in the World Heritage town of Luang Prabang. Among the cottage industries promoted include the manufacturing of Sa Paper and weaving. I visited a cottage industrial workshop when I explored Luang Prabang with a small group of AsiaExplorers members.
Sa Paper is a thick, fuzzy paper made from the bark of the mulberry tree. It is used to make all sorts of handicrafts including lanterns, lamps, writing paper, photo album and more. Considering sa paper comes from mulberry trees, the same trees are used as food for silk worms, which results in another related cottage industry - silk production.