From Matangi Tonga Magazine Vol. 13, no. 4, December 1998.

Ms Prue Townsend, (pictured second from left) from the Whitireia Polytech Institute,  New Zealand visited Tonga in November to run a workshop on paper-making, in what was a joint project with the ‘Aloua Ma‘a Tonga Association.

Tongan women learned how to use Tongan fibres such as fau, polata, pineapple leaf, saafa, newly fallen breadfruit leaves, and tutu, to make paper “materials which are usually thrown away”.

The fibres were cooked and washed to remove impurities, and then beaten with an ike on a tutua. She said that the beating, “gives it a fine texture, making the quality of the paper much better.”

This all takes about a day with the use of stainless steel pots, vats, mould and deckle. The paper produced is good enough for a computer printer and can be used for business cards, and greeting cards—with an order already placed by the New Zealand High Commission for Christmas cards.