Papier-Mâché

The various products of this craft are made in homes, and workshops, in Srinagar, and other parts of the Kashmir Valley, and are marketed primarily within India, although there is a significant international market. The skilled artisans involved with this painstaking process are called Saktha makers.

The materials involved with this process are discarded paper, cloth, straw of rice plant, copper sulphate, which are mixed and made into a pulp. The paper, after immersing in water for 4-5 weeks, is taken out and made into pulp and dried. The dried paper is then converted to a powder. The pulp thus made is applied on moulds made in wood or brass.

After drying, various designs and products are etched out of the various combinations of the respective casts.