Today is one of the twice weekly market days in Kalimpong. The owner, Yakob, was going to the market, Haat Bazaar, with his son. He invited me.
As Yakob walked around the market, he pointed out various things to me. For example, a particular fern plant was a good source of iron. Nettles were good for treating high blood pressure.
Once we’d finished at the market, I walked to the paper factory Kevin had told me about. I passed some interesting buildings. At one point, I met two young men who wanted me to take their photo and send it to them!
The paper factory was more like a workshop. It was smaller than the one I went to in Auroville, which used cotton to make paper.
Here, instead of using waste cotton, they used bark. The bark was stripped down, soaked, bleached then pulped. The pulp was used to make paper, shaped by wooden frames then compressed to remove excess water. The owner said they could vary the thickness of the paper. They could also add dyes to produce coloured paper.
I bought some presents from the factory shop then walked to the Art Cafe. I read my book and had coffee. Having had an early start to go to the market, I was a bit hungry. I ordered the phambi.