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A shrub in Nepal supplies the raw material for the bank notes used in Japan

nytimes.com

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Re: A shrub in Nepal supplies the raw material for the bank notes used in Japan

#21

Post by Luc »

Cthulhu_ wrote: post #16
bsza wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s not halfway across the globe. Not even quarter way. Meanwhile, the US one dollar note is made with flax imported from Belgium (also not halfway across the globe, but farther away).

Why not locally sourced? I mean it's very possible flax isn't native to the Americas but it seems wasteful to source something from abroad. And while 100+ years ago it made sense from a logistics point of view - use hard to find materials to fight counterfeiting - I don't believe that's a valid argument anymore.

It's a difficult low margin crop. Not easy to grow cheaply and it needs to be processed to extract the fibers.

It's been grown in that part of Europe for thousands of years and in the 19th century it was a major industry there. I don't think it's still a major crop in Belgium (too low margin) but the company in question is entrenched now.

Re: A shrub in Nepal supplies the raw material for the bank notes used in Japan

#22

Post by OisinMoran »

wenyuanyu wrote: post #13
bsza wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s not halfway across the globe. Not even quarter way. Meanwhile, the US one dollar note is made with flax imported from Belgium (also not halfway across the globe, but farther away).

No, they are not flying non-stop from Himalaya as you assume. I did a rough calculation using [0][1]. Not including the land part, just the sea route, it is 5396 nm [0], roughly 9993 km and that is indeed halfway the globe. By the way, from Antwerp, Belgium to Boston, MA is 3607 nm, roughly 6680 km, much shorter actually. - [0] http://ports.com/sea-route/#/?a=4063&b=4693&c=Port%20of%20Ko... - [1] http://ports.com/sea…

That is roughly a quarter the way around the globe

Re: A shrub in Nepal supplies the raw material for the bank notes used in Japan

#23

Post by cloudbonsai »

Cthulhu_ wrote: post #16
bsza wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s not halfway across the globe. Not even quarter way. Meanwhile, the US one dollar note is made with flax imported from Belgium (also not halfway across the globe, but farther away).

Why not locally sourced? I mean it's very possible flax isn't native to the Americas but it seems wasteful to source something from abroad. And while 100+ years ago it made sense from a logistics point of view - use hard to find materials to fight counterfeiting - I don't believe that's a valid argument anymore.

This thread is grossly missing the point. OP is writing about a foreign aid program directed at Nepali people.

Nepal is a rocky country, having a large patch of lands unsuitable for farming. People in the rulal area are literally one of the poorest population in the world.

Paper bush ("Mitsumata") grows well in such a rocky soil. This program is essentially an attempt to set up Japan as a longterm buyer of the material, so that the local people can make constant money.

> Why not locally sourced?

Because if Japan sourced the material locally, it just ceased to be a foreign assistance program.

Re: A shrub in Nepal supplies the raw material for the bank notes used in Japan

#24

Post by 1jbdg »

MildlySerious wrote: post #20
a5withtrrs wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You might be surprised to learn that a lot of the world uses polymer banknotes which are siignificantly more durable and last a lot longer than traditional 'paper' based currencies. The are incredibly hard to tear/break and they do not wear out or stretch. We've been using these in Australia since 1996. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polymer_banknote Having handled a fair amount of US currency I can say it _feels_ dis…

I'm aware it's being done already. But I'm not sure it would be a good starting point when designing a new set of notes. Euro banknotes are mostly made from cotton, and a lot of thought and effort is going into reducing the environmental footprint. The most circulated denominations last on average four years, the rest significantly longer I presume. How does that compare to polymer based banknotes?

In Canada they last 8-16 years… polymer notes are unequivocally better. Corruption and inertia is the only reason they are not everywhere. As to plastic pollution, banknotes are already a closed, circular loop and hence you get the miracle properties of plastic without the downside.

Re: A shrub in Nepal supplies the raw material for the bank notes used in Japan

#25

Post by hifromwork »

OisinMoran wrote: post #22
wenyuanyu wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, they are not flying non-stop from Himalaya as you assume. I did a rough calculation using [0][1]. Not including the land part, just the sea route, it is 5396 nm [0], roughly 9993 km and that is indeed halfway the globe. By the way, from Antwerp, Belgium to Boston, MA is 3607 nm, roughly 6680 km, much shorter actually. - [0] http://ports.com/sea-route/#/?a=4063&b=4693&c=Port%20of%20Ko... - [1] http://ports.com/sea…

That is roughly a quarter the way around the globe

Not a native speaker, but this got me thinking: how would you interpret "halfway" in this sentence:

>It’s not halfway across the globe

Equator is 40k km long, so it makes sense getting "halfway" there would be 20k km. But the "half" is of something, and it doesn't sound right that "at the end of the globe" would be the same place you started with. Especially since being "on the other end of the world" means roughly, well, opposite side of the globe.

So I think OP is justified in defining "across the globe" as the "opposite side of the world", and then "halfway across the globe" is "quarter the length of equator away". But maybe I'm overthinking it.

Re: A shrub in Nepal supplies the raw material for the bank notes used in Japan

#26

Post by pvaldes »

Let me guess... Edgeworthia crysantha?

EDIT. Yup. I can see the article now. That photo is unmistakable. Is a famous Japanese shrub used since a lot of time. The only difference is the new area of culture it seems. Formerly known as E. papyrifera.

Can be cultured in gardens, reduced size, and very nice fragrant blossoms in early spring. Fluffy flowers with the feel of a teddy bear. Needs acid soil.

Re: A shrub in Nepal supplies the raw material for the bank notes used in Japan

#28

Post by PetitPrince »

Reading this article, I was I itially surprised to read to Japan had to import raw material given their strong paper tradition (shoji , washi, origami, etc.). But then the article states that

> Shrinking rural populations and climate change were driving Japan’s farmers to abandon their labor-intensive plots.

Makes sense to try to conserve this resource somehow.

Re: A shrub in Nepal supplies the raw material for the bank notes used in Japan

#29

Post by pests »

1jbdg wrote: post #24
MildlySerious wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm aware it's being done already. But I'm not sure it would be a good starting point when designing a new set of notes. Euro banknotes are mostly made from cotton, and a lot of thought and effort is going into reducing the environmental footprint. The most circulated denominations last on average four years, the rest significantly longer I presume. How does that compare to polymer based banknotes?

In Canada they last 8-16 years… polymer notes are unequivocally better. Corruption and inertia is the only reason they are not everywhere. As to plastic pollution, banknotes are already a closed, circular loop and hence you get the miracle properties of plastic without the downside.

I think the concern was with the plastic money shedding micro plastics or threads as it slowly degrades over time, like we're finding other plastic does like our clothing. Not saying enough to take out of circulation, but does it shed any particles during its life?

Re: A shrub in Nepal supplies the raw material for the bank notes used in Japan

#30

Post by hoseja »

zeristor wrote: post #15
cyclecount wrote: post #5

And the people of Nepal supply the raw labor used by many of the Gulf states

Ghurkas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gurkha I didn’t realise there were Ghurkas in the Indian army.

Also increasingly recruited into the russian army for use as cannon fodder, you don't hear much fierce invincible Ghurka news about those for some reason.
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