ESG News

Unlike ordinary paper mills, Zhiliaowo is a paradise close to nature. When we got out of the car, we were greeted by the golden rain with a faint fragrance. It turned out that the raindrops are longan tree blossoms. Then we heard the sound of wind chimes that are made of bamboo, making sounds with the wind. The visually-impaired students felt the beautiful scenery of nature through the sense of smell and hearing.

We came here not just to make a piece of paper, but to understand the culture and history of paper, and to experience various ways of playing with paper. When the visually-impaired students put their hands in the paper pulp made of Makino Bamboo, they were very excited to feel the soft touch of the paper pulp. The students then used a screen to remove the pulp and smoothed it out. The volunteers helped them to carefully check whether the pulp was unevenly distributed. Some students did not succeed for the first time, and there were holes in the screen that are not covered by pulp. The volunteers patiently encouraged the visually-impaired students to try again. After all, one must pay attention to details in order to make perfect work!

While waiting for the paper to dry, the guide led the visually impaired students and the volunteers to walk on the trail in the forest. The guide not only introduced the characteristics of ecological plants but also shared the history of the relics remaining in the ancient trail. The drought this year has affected the blossom of plants. Luckily, we were able to enjoy the beautiful tung blossoms along the ancient trail. Although the trail is very short, due to the need to climb along the way and the uneven steps made of stones of various sizes, some efforts were still required by the visually-impaired students and the volunteers to walk on the trail. After the walk, everyone was hungry and finished their lunches. Some students even had three bowls of rice!

In the afternoon, through an in-depth tour of the history of papermaking, we learned that the bamboo paper produced by Zhiliaowo was for making “joss paper”. The workshop also made the arrangement for the visually-impaired students to experience the ancient paper pressing equipment called "Liao Wheel". This huge stone wheel is a tool for crushing bamboo. It weighs 240 kilograms and was pulled by cows in the old days. On that day, we played the role of a cow to "pull the wheel". Although it was a bit difficult, the students had a great time and lots of fun!

This is an interesting and meaningful journey. The visually-impaired students used their own hands to make paper starting from paper forming to pressing and drying, and then used different methods to decorate their work. It is a new experience for all of them. Through experiencing the paper-making process, the dull history of paper-making was transformed into vivid activities that attracted the attention of the visually-impaired students to learn related knowledge.