Experts hope barkcloth project will save 5,000-year-old craft from oblivion

Textile conservators, botanists and experts on barkcloth—made from the inner bark of the paper mulberry tree—are joining forces to research the 5,000-year-old Pacific Islands tradition of making the cloth, with the help of a three-year grant from the UK Arts and Humanities Research Council. Experts from the University of Glasgow, the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew and the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC, will investigate the materials, techniques and designs used in the creation of barkcloth, also known as tapa cloth, which holds cultural and religious significance for Pacific Islands societies. The ancient craft has largely died out in the region due to increasing Westernisation.