Ancient Maya used the bark of a tree named “huun” to make paper, and thus the word came to designate paper itself.
As time passed, the noble craft of papermaking fell into disuse in Yucatan, until Proyect Huun, an initiative to promote sustainable development in communities was launched in Merida in 1985.
In a nutshell, the process of papermaking consists of the following steps: collecting the plants to be used as raw material, boiling, washing and milling them into a pulp, pouring them on a wire screen mold until they form a fiber layer, hammering the fiber layer to flatten it and remove water and hanging the resulting paper sheets to dry.
This paper can later be dyed in different colors, ornamented with flowers and dry leaves can de added or given different finishings.
Hand-made paper has many applications: books and other printed materials, specialized stationery, bookbinding, lamp screens, commercial leaflets, publicity materials, wrappings, cards, box and furniture covers and folding screens, to name a few.
Source: Merida artesanal (Handcrafts in Merida)
Segunda edicion 2005.
City Council of Merida
