-
And for something completely different….Incense Paper
As the co-founder of Indochine Natural (2006 – 2024), I had a lot of fun formulating new products. And one of these was Incense Paper.
My Vietnamese Co-Founder and I met with the Zó project in Ha Noi. This is a social enterprise supporting the Vietnamese traditional paper industry. They were working to keep an 800-year-old paper-making tradition alive.
This is called Dó paper. And these villagers used an ancient paper-making technique with natural fibre from the Dó bark tree (Rhamnoneuron balansae).
Renowned for being very durable and resilient, Dó paper has a subtly textured surface.
The video shows my initial test with Dó paper. I wanted to make sure the paper burns well. And it certainly did.
My next step was to apply to this paper some natural tinctures I had made. This process takes four days for each paper.
One tincture I worked with was Boswellia carterii, a favourite of the fragrance industry. I sourced this ingredient from Somaliland. Here, tapping for incense is carried out by nomadic herdsmen.
And I made a few other tincture formulations. For example, I blended Frankincense( Boswellia carterii); Benzoin Siam (Styrax tonkinensis); Sage (Salvia officinalis); Lavender Flowers (Lavandula angustifolia); Myrrh Powder (Commiphora molmol); and Cedarwood Powder (Cedrus deodara).
And finally, I checked the fragrances as the incense papers burned. And so my new enterprise was born. Incense Paper.
-
4 Replies
-
Love this- it’s more my cup of tea than the soaps you’re so passionate about.
I know that losing a business hurts, and I also know that the passion doesn’t die with the business, so I hope soon enough, you’ll share another exciting experiment, only this time, a recent one????
PS- nothing against soaps, just not my passion
-
Thanks for your kind words….much appreciated.
-
Creative idea! I’m sure the scent was amazing.
-
Yes indeed, it was an amazing fragrance experience.
-
Log in to reply.