Vietnam Traditional handmade paper – Do paper – Vietnamese name: giấy Dó (Dó paper) is made from the bark of trees (such as paper, as listed under the process …), craft handed down through many generations in a village in Vietnam. Dó paper is used for painting in the folk arts of Vietnam, especially for Dong Ho paintings, or it is used to store some materials. This is due to its many qualities, among them its durability over time (up to 1000 years).

Nowadays, in Vietnam, the art of creating this beautiful paper has been almost forgotten because of the diminution of the demand for this product. The reason is that the industrialization in Vietnam has developed quickly during the last 30 years.Therefore, Zó has made a big effort to preserve this local knowledge and make it alive one more time in our modern life. The process of making Do paper is quite laborious. It takes a month for the artisan to make only one thin, porous and light Dó sheet.

Since Dó paper is soft and catches colors easily, it is very easy to dye it. The colorful paper will have higher applicability. Under the creative hands of artisans, Do paper has more natural colors, eye-catching with just 3 basic steps.

Step 1: Cut dyed materials. Then rinsed, drained

List of dyeing materials:

1. Peristrophe roxburghiana for pink color

2. Climbing spinach fruit for purple color

3. Purple cabbage for a light purple color

4. Roucou for red color

5. Fibraurea recisa for yellow color

Step 2: Put the ingredients in a separate pot, and begin to boil and then let simmer this for one hour.

Step 3: Dye white papers with prepared colored water. Then dry them in the sun

After three steps, we will obtain a variety of paper with eye-catching colors. From that, they are developed into a lot of interesting products by Zó projects such as lamp, fans, notebooks, calendars, earrings, …