The Dao ethnic group boasts a rich and distinctive culture, reflected through their customs, traditions, language, script, and traditional crafts. Dao villages are often located in remote and isolated areas, separated from other ethnic groups, allowing their cultural and spiritual life to remain largely intact. Among these, traditional crafts hold a significant position, meeting the essential needs of daily life.

Every year, the Dao ethnic people organize numerous rituals and worship ceremonies, requiring a substantial amount of paper. The Dao have their own script (Nôm Dao), and the use of traditional paper for recording genealogy and preserving documents from generation to generation is indispensable.

In Đề Tâu hamlet, the Dao ethnic group lives in a close-knit community of nearly 30 households, all of whom engage in paper-making. The Dao use paper for daily activities, making the craft of handmade paper a primary occupation for women during the dry season to supplement their income. Notably, paper-making is predominantly carried out by the women, including mothers and grandmothers.

Chảo Thị Ghến from Đề Tâu hamlet shared: “The paper we make is partly used for family needs, such as during festivals, Tet holidays, or worship ceremonies. The rest is sold at local markets for VND 10,000 per sheet. As a traditional handicraft product, it is highly appreciated by customers, with the main buyers being the Mông ethnic people. At each market day, we can sell hundreds of sheets, providing a good income for the family.”

The craft of making Dao handmade paper involves numerous meticulous and skillful steps performed by the women. The raw materials used for paper-making are diverse, including young bamboo and tree bark, which are split, stripped, and soaked in lime water or ash water. The soaking process typically lasts half a month; once the materials turn white and soft, they are pounded and ground into paper pulp. After obtaining the pulp, Dao women mix it with water from forest trees in an appropriate ratio to create adhesion, then spread it evenly onto a fabric frame and dry it.

The whiteness, thickness, and overall quality of the paper depend on the raw materials, the maker’s experience, and the skill in evenly spreading the paper mixture onto the fabric frame.

Tẩn Thị Dao from Đề Tâu hamlet said: “Depending on the number of paper-making frames each family owns, we can produce about 400 to 600 sheets a week. During the sunny months of the dry season, we focus on making paper, both producing and storing it, as handmade paper is very durable and doesn’t spoil even after several years. At each market day, I sell between 30 and 60 sheets, and I sell year-round.”

The craft of paper-making in Đề Tâu hamlet not only generates additional income and supports family economies but is also closely tied to preserving and promoting the traditional culture of the Dao ethnic group in modern life.