25.4.11: Umbrella Making Centre

We went to the Umbrella Making Centre at Sankhampaeng District in Chiang Mai. They made paper umbrellas. This was an interesting industry but required a lot of hard work. It's amazing to see the number of people required to make an umbrella.

The workers were seated outdoors but under a roof structure which sheltered them. 
First, the wooden head / handle of the umbrella is made.
Then the bark of the sa (mulberry) tree is pounded into pulp. 
The pulp is then soaked with chemical and then dried to make paper 
Feeling the texture of the paper
The spokes are made from bamboo. There was a nice bamboo  fragrance there. 

When opened, it looks like this

The paper is pasted onto the bamboo spokes.
The umbrellas are then left to dry
Umbrellas with various colours
Tiny decorative umbrellas

Some umbrellas are painted and decorated.  There were various sizes of umbrellas. There were even waterproof outdoor paper umbrellas. 
We also watched other crafts people at work there, painting paper fans and T-shirt. 

Beautiful paintings 
Sitting on a trishaw

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