Though rice paper traditionally means paper made from rice plants, today it can be made from just about any plant source, such as bamboo.

To make your own rice paper, you will need about a pound and a half of bamboo leaves, two and a half pounds of wood ash (such as from a fireplace), a big pot, a basin, water, a couple of towels, some mesh for straining, a mortar and a pestle for grinding, a wooden spoon, the frame you made for paper-making, any decorations you’d like in the paper, and some heavy books for pressing your paper.

To begin, shred your bamboo leaves and set them aside. Prepare your ash by mixing your wood ashes with your water in the pot. Boil the mixture for half an hour and let it sit overnight.

The next day, strain the mixture through your mesh. Mix your bamboo and the ash mix in the pot and cook it together for five hours. When it’s finished cooking, strain the whole mixture once again, and wrap the fiber that’s left in a towel.

Rinse the towel out with fresh water and squeeze out the excess water. Empty the fibers from the towel into your mortar and grind it into a paper pulp with your pestle. Next, fill your basin up with water and pour in your pulp. You should have about four parts of water to one part pulp. Stir it well with your spoon.

Follow through with the rest of your paper-making steps, and when you are finished, lay a piece of cloth over the paper before covering it with your books to flatten it out.

Some of these stores specialize in paper exclusively; these are the stores where you may be able to find a wide variety of paper, from batik to mulberry to almost any kind you might want or need. Others sell a multitude of items and may not carry as many types of paper. Below are a few great places to purchase your own handmade paper.

FreetheSlaves.com: Human trafficking survivors make and sell paper for this company, which works to free victims of the human trafficking industry. Though only a few varieties are available, they are very affordable and for a great cause.

Creative Papers Online: This U.S.-based company has some of the widest varieties of handmade paper available. From marble to metallic, sea to silk, Japanese, mulberry and even papyrus, they are likely to have the paper you’re after.

CustomPaper.com: This website carries some beautiful designs for unique wedding invitations, gift cards or wrapping paper.

A.L. Paper House: India’s largest handmade paper provider, this store features a large variety of embossed paper designs as well as dew drop paper, embroidery paper, and many other assortments.

Green Field Paper Company: This store has a selection of very unique handmade papers, such as garlic paper, recycled denim paper, and hemp paper. They even have a “100% Junk Mail Note Set” for those wishing to purchase fully recycled materials.

Once you have your own unique collection of homemade paper, you’re left with a decion to make: just what are you going to do with it? Like any paper, we can start hoarding it up, “saving it” for special occasions when we really should put it to use. Here are ten ideas to get you started on using your new paper–and making way for new creations.

10. Gift Tags: Perhaps the most simple way to use your paper, homemade gift tags add a special personal touch to any gift (no matter your wrapping skills!).

9. Scrapbooks: People are always looking for bright, new patterns of paper to use in scrapbooking. Use it in your own, or give it as a gift for a friend who does scrapbooking.

8. Personalized Announcements: If you send out a family newsletter, post flyers about your band, or otherwise print out interesting notices that could use some diversity, try using your homemade paper.

7. Projects with Children: If you’re making paper chains, kites or any crafts with children, use your own paper for a bit of variety. The children may be interested in how you made it, spawnig their own interest in making paper.

But today, the Institute is struggling.

73 workers have been laid off, and though the HPI is considering bringing them back on, it will only be able to do so at half the rate it had previously paid them.

Though the HPI has served as an important paper producer for India itself–the draft of the country’s own constitution was printed on paper manufactured there–80% of its products are exported. From watermark papers to drawing varieties, diamond papers to elephant, flower petal and silk papers, and even paper bags and folders, the HPI covers most, if not all, paper products on the market.

According to the assistant manager of the HPI, it also does this in a very eco-friendly fashion. “Instead of wood, we use cotton and currency wastes as raw material, thereby being completely eco-friendly.”

There are disputes as to why the hardship has fallen upon the manufacturer, ranging from management negligence (according to workers) and lack of funds and business (according to management).  Knowing how difficult the economy is today in many countries, either party could be right; but the bottom line is that a place where great art and sustainable creation have taken place since 1940 is now declining.