The study was aimed at enhancing the hydrophobic properties of handmade paper (HMP) produced from raw jute as an alternate packaging material. The hydrophobicity and strength of the HMP are both crucial properties for packaging materials, hence internal (rosin) and external additives (microcrystalline cellulose) along with fiber reinforcement were used to improve these properties. The addition of the additives improved the hydrophobic character of the HMP. The optimum water resistance was achieved by using rosin and alum as internal additives, and MCC as external additive. The hydrophobic character was increased by 92.46%. The introduction of hydrophilic jute fiber as reinforcement resulted in lower water resistance index.