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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

#51

Post by kragen »

MichaelZuo wrote: post #49
returningfory2 wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> hopefully the article will make it fashionable among hipsters seeking better materials for their moleskines? If that happens we’ll be reading articles about how unfair it is that western consumers are pricing the Nepalese people out of their local products (a la quinoa).

I don’t think all the hipsters in the world could consume that much specialty paper in a year, so it’s unlikely to be an issue.

presupposing a global hipster population of 100 million and paper consumption per hipster of one bullet journal per month, weighing perhaps 500 grams, we get 600 thousand tonnes per year of paper consumption, roughly four thousand times the amount the article tells us is being used to print banknotes. this seems like it could employ several hundred thousand people, but probably not nearly enough to run out of land suitable for growing argeli

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

#52

Post by creaturemachine »

hoseja wrote: post #30
zeristor wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Those are not soldiers, rather labourers looking for work who end up with a gun thrust in their arms as they're sent to the front lines.

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

#53

Post by pvaldes »

kragen wrote: post #39
pvaldes wrote: post #26

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.

the article maybe claims it's a different species? the reporter doesn't seem to know much about botany, so they're a little vague

The photos depict this species[1]. This is the traditional one on Japanese bureaucracy for very important documents so is basically irreplaceable, because historical reasons.

Edgeworthia is a relatively small, relatively slow grower so there are also two species more that provide good quality fibers and could be mixed with that. One is a relative of the mulberry tree and the other a member of the same family that includes Edgeworthia.

[1] EDIT. Selfcorrection. The photos depict an Egdeworthia, but could be other species in the same genus as other have pointed, yep.

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

#54

Post by FinalBriefing »

1jbdg wrote: post #40
pests wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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?

Does it shed particles? In a world of absolutism yes they would. I don’t know if there are actually any studies but fyi cotton notes will also have plastic features and a synthetic, uv cured varnish to try and get some extra life (although far less than polymer) so also ’shed’. Banknotes are regularly inspected and worn or damaged notes are pulled - they really are the perfect product for plastic.

By weight though, it's a lot less plastic being put out there. Is it worse than clothing? Maybe not, but I'd continue to be skeptical about it until some studies have been done.

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

#55

Post by pvaldes »

twic wrote: post #45
kragen wrote: post #36

specifically argeli , a term which has no wikipedia article; mitsumata (which the article says is the name of the paper) is https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgeworthia_chrysantha . the wikipedia article says the papers are washi and, in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_tissue , kitakata . the econometrics from the article > This year, Mr. Sherpa has hired 60 local Nepalis to help him process his harvest and expec…

> Edgeworthia gardneri (common names: Indian papertree,[2] Nepalese paperbush;[2] Nepali: अर्गेली (Argelee))[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgeworthia_gardneri

Hum. If is E. gardneri then is not culture, is dismantlement of the nepali forests to make money (literally). That would be very sad.

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

#56

Post by kragen »

pvaldes wrote: post #55
twic wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Edgeworthia gardneri (common names: Indian papertree,[2] Nepalese paperbush;[2] Nepali: अर्गेली (Argelee))[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgeworthia_gardneri

Hum. If is E. gardneri then is not culture, is dismantlement of the nepali forests to make money (literally). That would be very sad.

it says they're planting it and harvesting the plants after no more than three years so the bark doesn't redden, but looking at the photos in the article, it looks like the hill districts in question aren't very forested? google maps makes it look like there are in fact many forests there: https://www.google.com/maps/@26.9,88.5101152,20665m/data=!3m...

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

#57

Post by kragen »

pvaldes wrote: post #53
kragen wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

the article maybe claims it's a different species? the reporter doesn't seem to know much about botany, so they're a little vague

The photos depict this species[1]. This is the traditional one on Japanese bureaucracy for very important documents so is basically irreplaceable, because historical reasons. Edgeworthia is a relatively small, relatively slow grower so there are also two species more that provide good quality fibers and could be mixed with that. One is a relative of the mulberry tree and the other a member of the same family that inc…

thank you, i didn't know that!

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

#58

Post by pvaldes »

kragen wrote: post #42
Iambecomedeath wrote: post #9

We (Nepali) have been using this material to make lokta paper for a long time now. These papers (Nepali Kaagaz) are used mainly today for official documents.

apparently https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daphne_bholua and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daphne_papyracea , the usual species for lokta paper, are in a different genus in the same family as https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgeworthia_chrysantha ; is it possible the argeli mentioned is an edgeworthia species rather than a daphne species? edit: twic found https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40039860 that it's edgeworthi…

Daphne is a complicated material to manipulate. All its parts are very poisonous. Edgeworthia is a little safer, it seems.

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

#59

Post by 698969 »

kragen wrote: post #36

specifically argeli , a term which has no wikipedia article; mitsumata (which the article says is the name of the paper) is https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgeworthia_chrysantha . the wikipedia article says the papers are washi and, in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_tissue , kitakata . the econometrics from the article > This year, Mr. Sherpa has hired 60 local Nepalis to help him process his harvest and expec…

I wonder if the demand is expected to remain stable..

The article mentions that Japan redesigns its currency every 20 years, and they're doing so this year.

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

#60

Post by AlecSchueler »

kragen wrote: post #51
MichaelZuo wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don’t think all the hipsters in the world could consume that much specialty paper in a year, so it’s unlikely to be an issue.

presupposing a global hipster population of 100 million and paper consumption per hipster of one bullet journal per month, weighing perhaps 500 grams, we get 600 thousand tonnes per year of paper consumption, roughly four thousand times the amount the article tells us is being used to print banknotes. this seems like it could employ several hundred thousand people, but probably not nearly enough to run out of land su…

It wasn't about running out of land it was about the demand increasing prices to the point that locals could no longer make use of it.
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