The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Learning to make paper bags

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Sunday, Mar 23, 2008
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Learning to make paper bags

Staff Reporter

— PHOTO: V Ganesan

PAPER, NOT PLASTIC: Women learning to make paper bags at a workshop organised by Exnora International.

CHENNAI: A group of women from T. Nagar got together recently to learn how to put to good use an old pile of newspaper by turning them into paper bags.

“Paper bag making was a big business some years ago when the government had brought in a law prohibiting use of plastic bags. With the decline in strict enforcement of the law, the paper bag-making culture also disappeared,” said chief resource person, T. Vijay Anand, at the paper bag-making workshop organised by Exnora International. “This attempt is a means to revive interest and promote the use of paper bags over plastic,” he said .

The women present for the workshop were mainly from the lower income groups. N. Kanchana lives on Thomas Road and works as a maid. She also sells various little things to provide for herself and her family. She said she came to the workshop to learn another potentially cost-effective business activity. N. Kalaiselvi agrees. She does whatever she can to earn some money including selling various items and sewing. She hopes this too can provide her with some additional income.

Founder, President, Exnora Internation, M.B. Nirmal said that Exnora had plans to introduce paper bags at the ticket counter to the zoo for people to carry with them as refuse bag so that they do not litter the place.

Mr. Anand meticulously took the group of women through the simple yet effective method of paper production and said that he hoped the movement would get back to full force again. “There was a time when even the bigger names in retail used paper bags. Well-designed ones could fetch up to Rs. 30 in the early half of the decade. There was also a great demand for workshops on how to make them” he said, lamenting the circumstances that made them close the Exnora Women’s Centre which specialised in this business.

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