Women folding gift bags in paper factory in Jaipur, India
The next time you wander in a craft store to buy glittered paper, or when you go to the store to buy a gift bag, think about where it may have come from. I know I assumed most of it was made by machine in a factory. Yes, there are machines in the factory we visited in Jaipur, however, there were also many people doing the work by hand. If you have ever made your own paper, you will find the following photos familiar.
Paper was put through a press
There were many beautiful colors
Women separated the paper by hand
Paper was put in a press and then glue was added using a template
The paper was handed to a woman sitting on the floor where she put the glitter on one end and then pulled it up…
It is now shimmering!
So is she!
We also got to see the paper being folded in to gift bags and then glued and pressed. See the video below: