Le Thanh Ha, 40, a native of Nghe An Province, has a strong passion for making paper products from coconut palms in Da Nang.

Ha (right) introducing his colleague steps of creating beautiful patterns onto the paper

Entering a creatively-decorated exhibition house owned by Ha at 26 Nguyen Dang Tuyen in Son Tra District, apart from experiencing comfortable and close-to-nature feelings thanks to its interior decorations, the visitors will be deeply impressed by paper products made from locally-grown coconut palms.

Ha, who graduated from the Hue University of Fine Arts, said, unlike any other kinds of paper made from familiar materials, the paper created from coconut palms receives high praise from the public for its special artistic characteristics.  

At first, Ha nurtured the plan of making paintings on a completely new material, and eventually, the idea of creating paper from coconut palms came accidentally when he was taking a leisurely stroll along a peaceful coastal route connecting Hoi An and Da Nang.

In late 2015, Ha and his friend Truong Tan Tho, a native of Quang Nam Province, opened the Viet Paper Garden on Ly Thuong Kiet Street of Hoi An which specialises in displaying products made from Nipa palms (called water coconut in Viet Nam). Nipa palm paper can be used for interior decoration items including lanterns, hand-fans, postcard, partitions and origami works.

Only 2 years later, with his great creativity, paper made from Da Nang-grown coconut palms, a highly appreciated brainchild created by Ha, made its debut in the city.

Asked about the process of making the paper, Ha briefed that stems of coconut palms are split into small pieces, and then, they are cleaned thoroughly by soaking in water before being cooked with lime with a 24-hour duration.

After that, the grinding machine pulverizes the pieces into powder, and the pulp is mixed with water and spread within a frame.

In particular, Ha and his fellows thought about a way to make pulp. After a lot of effort, they found a grinding machine made in early 20th century and carried it from Ho Chi Minh City to Hoi An.

After four months of refurbishment, the old machine finally could run smoothly to serve the men who had given up their jobs to work on the coconut paper project.

Wooden frames with voile screens and cutouts of designs or pictures are dipped into this mixture, taken out and sprayed with water in varying degrees of force to shape and design the powdery substance on the surface. Once this is done, the cutouts are removed, creating beautiful patterns, designs and pictures. The frame is then dried in the sun for several days.

What makes this art different is that the paper is not painted upon, patterns and pictures are “embossed” on to it. It seems to be a quick process, but it is a time consuming process to get an idea and lay out a story. Ha and his fellows make and break stuff many times before completing the process of making an artwork.

Coconut- made paper has a slightly purple colour. However, additives can be used to create paper of different colours.

Paper products made by Ha and his craftsmen highlight Da Nang’s characteristics such as the endangered red-shanked douc langurs (Pygathrix nemaeus), the inviting landscapes of the Son Tra Penisula, beautiful beaches, the Marble Mountains tourist site, and ‘ca chuon’ (flying fish), one of the seaside city’s seafood specialties.

Ha and his colleagues plan to create paper products from new types of materials in the near future, and he is willing to introduce the time-honoured traditional craft to anyone who has the same strong passion as him.