Rethinking the Weeds

Weeds to Paper Report: Science and Sensitivity

In the process of preparing plant fibres for papermaking, there is an intense interaction between the paper maker and the plant. The paper maker becomes intimately in contact with the fibres during the processes of chopping, tearing, cooking, beating or blending. The process is repetitious, physically demanding and best approached as a kind of meditation. During this process I try to tune into the plant ask for its cooperation express my appreciation for its possibilities.

 “Paying attention is a form of reciprocity with the living world, receiving the gifts with open eyes and open heart.”

― Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants

Redeeming the weeds

All this came about because the organisation with whom I do weeding work on K’gari find ourselves at times with large quantities of fibrous weeds. In the process of working to convert invasive weeds into useful fibre products including twine and paper, I have begun to reflect on the ethno-botany of two particular plants which our Weeds to Paper team have engaged with quite intensively.

Sisal (Agave sisalana) is a species of flowering plant native to southern Mexico, but widely cultivated and naturalized in many other countries. It yields a stiff fibre used in making rope and various other product including twines, and general cordage, specialty paper, dartboards, buffing cloth, filters, geotextiles, mattresses, carpets, and as biodegradable materials in green chemistry. Sisal, or sisal hemp,  was introduced to K’gari during the days of the sailing ships. The long strong fibres of the sisal plant lend themselves to the production a rope and sailcloth, both of which were an advantage if a ship were damaged far from port. With the advent of steam power and other technologies which rendered ships independent of sail, the sisal plants had no apparent purpose. The sisal on the northern end of K’gari around Sandy Cape has been virtually illuminated by weeding teams. Teams working around Happy Valley are still removing significant quantities.

Utilising Sisal

Sisle is a rather stiff unyielding fibre that is physically demanding to process. One trial used leaves about one metre to 1.5 metres in length. These were soaked in a trough for about 10 days. This did soften the fibre somewhat but it was still difficult to chop and required extensive cooking. After cooking and rinsing this fibre was processed through a Hollander beater and yielded quite a course creamy white fibre with high tensile strength. For use as a decorative paper it could require a possible addition of some finer fibres such as banana or cotton linters.

Sansevieria trifasciata

Common names: Mother-in-law’s tongue, sword grass, Snake plant, Good luck plant, African bowstring hemp.

Sanseveria is a declared pest plant in Queensland. It is a garden escapee on K’gari especially around the settlement of Happy Valley. A spreading or clumping plant with a network of creeping underground stems, Sansevieria’s large, elongated, sword-shaped leaves (30-120 cm long and 2.5-9 cm wide) are arranged in small upright clusters. These long-lived leaves are somewhat fleshy and have sharply-pointed tips. They are irregularly striped with dark green and pale whitish-green. This plant has a reputation as a useful houseplant which removes toxins from the interior environment. It deserves its reputation for hardiness and is almost impossible to kill.

On K’gari and particularly around Happy Valley ,sword grass has attained mammoth proportions. Individual leaves are commonly over 1 metre long and very tough to deal with. In fact the whole procedure for processing Sanseveria is very similar to that for sisal, even though the two plants are not closely botanically related. Experimentation with cooking times and chopping techniques could produce a finer paper from sansevieria. The younger leaves when processed quite fresh sometimes produce a paper which retains a greenish colour. When restraint dried on glass or plastic it produces a smooth enough side for lino cut printing or calligraphic work.

These two plants, sisal and sanseveria, can come into a new era of usefulness if we pay attention to their qualities and ask for their cooperation.