Japan Paper hal's gift boxes are made from banana paper.
For designer Hal,
this banana paper is a material very close to her heart.
Banana paper is made using fibers from banana trees grown in the Republic of Zambia, Africa,
then handcrafted at a Japanese Echizen Washi paper mill,
and finally assembled into boxes one by one by Japanese artisans.
As a student, Hal
visited Zambia twice for this banana paper factory,
and also visited the Echizen Washi factory.
People cheerfully singing under mango trees while drying banana tree fibers,
children smiling as they talk about being able to go to school,
a family of elephants crossing a river as the fiery red sun sets...
These days in Zambia will remain in my memory forever.
Thanks to banana paper in Zambia,
jobs and industry were created in poor villages where there were no opportunities to work, nature flourished,
and the poaching of precious wildlife, child labor, crime, and environmental destruction decreased.
I was deeply shocked to learn that there was an environment where young children had to work, or engage in poaching and crime to survive,
but I was also moved by the fact that Japan possessed the technology to transform such an environment.
"Someday, if I start my own business, I want to use this banana paper."
After 12 years of thinking that,
one of my dreams has finally come true.
May these banana paper gift boxes
bring smiles to the people of Zambia, to the Japanese Washi artisans,
to the person you are giving a gift to,
and to yourself.
Hal
