At Karatasi Collective, every sheet of paper carries not only fibre, but also story. Our process is simple, respectful, sacred, guided by water, sun, and plants, the same elements our ancestors have honoured with reverence for centuries.
We begin with rainwater, carefully collected in shallow rectangular vats, honoured and never wasted. Water is the binder, the medium that unites all our fibres, carrying them together until they form a living sheet. Every scoop, every stir, every gentle movement of water brings the fibres into harmony. In its flow, there is renewal, in its patience, there is teaching, and in its life-giving embrace, there is reverence for creation itself.
Each sheet is lifted into the warmth of the sun, dried slowly under its watchful gaze. The sun is giver and guardian, marking time, ripening the fibres, opening paths. To work with the sun is to listen with reverence for rhythm, to practice patience, to witness the miraculous transformation of raw materials into a work of art..
Banana fibre, from a plant that has fed generations, now offers its stem for craft, a sign of life and continuity, reminding us to honour abundance with reverence. Pineapple leaf fibre, from leaves once cast aside, becomes golden strands of strength, a reminder that nothing is wasted, not even what is left behind, and that every gift of the land deserves care. Elephant grass, tall and resilient, carries healing and endurance in its fibres, bending with the wind and returning with the rain, always bridging earth and sky, always teaching reverence for nature’s cycles.
Every step is held by the women who make the paper, hands stirring water, pressing fibre, lifting sheets into the sun. Each gesture is a ceremony, a way of remembering that what we make is not just paper. Our process is a conversation with water, with sun, with plants, and with the stories that root us to place. This is why Karatasi is not just paper.
From paper to box, our journey continues. We are developing a collection of handmade letter boxes and shipping boxes crafted for artists, makers, and dreamers who believe in meaningful, sustainable design. The same fibres that tell our stories now take shape as vessels, boxes that hold letters, memories, gifts, and moments. Each one is handmade from banana fibre, water, and tapioca starch, slowly shaped, dried in the sun, and folded with care. We call them Karatasi Re: Made. The boxes are sturdy enough to carry stories across the world, yet gentle to the earth that gave them life. To collaborate or explore how our packaging can hold your story, connect with us at info@karatasicollective.com