August 2017 - Flax foraging, processing and more paper-making

At the end of July I saw an ad on Facebook Whangarei Buy, Sell and Swap. The advert read: FLAX FREE TO GOOD HOME QUITE BIG CAN TAKE ALL JUST NEED TO BREAK IT DOWN..READY TO PICK UP....IN KAMO AREA

Well, I responded immediately in the hope it was still available.

And it was - so next day I took a trip up to Kamo to collect it

My little car was full to the brim!

 Lucky for me I have a hatchback so the seats fold down. Even so, I needed to do a second trip to collect the rest of it.

I wasn't working on Saturday the 12th and it dawned a beautiful sunny day, perfect for sitting outside cutting up flax in preparation for cooking

It was so warm I had to change into shorts and a tee-shirt!

I had the company of my cat, Tibby while I worked.

I wish I had an easier way to cut the flax than just a sharp knife but I do find it quite cathartic and before I know it I have filled up a stockpot for cooking. 

I threw in some banana palm that is constantly reappearing in my garden

..and added the second pot to be cooked up. I add caustic soda, which when cooked with plant materials separates the cellulose and non cellulose matter from the plant. This batch was simmered and cooked for 5-6 hours

The cat moved once in that time..but only to follow the sun.

I still have a lot of flax left but as it is starting to die (and curl making it harder to cut) I need to get it into some water "to keep it" fresh until I can cut the rest of it up.

My outdoor bath makes for a good receptacle for the flax. 

We've had quite a bit of rain the past two weeks so the pool has filled up again. I kept on meaning to empty it and pack it away but I'll need lots of water to rinse the cooked flax so the rain/pool is a blessing in disguise.

I'm left with a big pile of roots to dispose of now. Shame I don't have property to plant them to grow more flax!

Paper Pulp/fibre preparation and cooking: 7 hours

On the 15th August which was a Tuesday I spent the morning rinsing the pohutukawa fibres I had previously cooked up and was keen to make some paper from the pulp.

 I tip the pulp into old pillow cases to rinse out the fibres. Unfortunately this one split while I was squeezing out the water so I had to go search for another one. (I need to get some more from the op shop)

I use plastic rubbish bins for doing the rinsing and water from the pool until it's clearish.

 The rinsed fibres then get processed through my insinkerator.

I recycle any off cuts by soaking them in some water and adding to the pulp mix.


I got lots of sheets of paper made but sadly, at the end of the day when I went to move the stack for pressing the board I had them on broke in half! They all fell on the ground. Fortunately, I've been able to carefully lift and spread them flat again - there's only a couple that creased too much to save. In between couching sheets of paper and draining the moulds I weeded the garden and took photos.

My bunnies ears have always caught my eye  - the white trim intrigues me!

I still have more pulp in the vat and plan more paper making on my days I am not working. Then, I will use it to make books.

Pohutukawa paper making - 7 hours
 (includes rinsing and processing  fibres and couching sheets of paper)