You only have to touch the paper to understand why manufacturing methods dating back to the 17th century are still in use today. What’s more, the six steps involved in making cotton paper are revealed to the public and passed on to future papermakers thanks to Papeterie Saint-Gilles’ Économusée® status. Founded in 1965 by Monsignor Félix-Antoine Savard, the artisan paper mill became the world’s first economuseum in 1988.

There are now more than 84 artisan members of the Économusée® international network. And in Charlevoix, six of them are yours to discover: the cheese factory, the cidery, the flour mill, the oil mill, the paper mill and, of course, a new one on the evolution of ice canoeing. Although the latter isn’t really a profession per se, its practice is still important to the people of Quebec. But that’s another story altogether, so let’s circle back to cotton for now. This is the same cotton that, after being rejected by the textile industry and recovered by paper mills, bears the watermark of the Saint-Gilles seal, guaranteeing the paper’s authenticity. Here, products are unbleached and free of chemicals, making their processing very environmentally friendly.

A thousand and one textures: Paper economuseum