The art of molded paper, paper mache, or takaan (as it is known in the Philippines) is a 400 year unbroken tradition in the small town of Paete. After the Spanish arrived in the Philippines in 1580, Franciscan Monks cultivated the craft of takaan among the people of the region and established Paete as a leading papier mache center in the Pacific. Now today, Paper Capers International carries on these time honored traditions and continues to provide the world with exquisite papier mache home decor and novelty items.