An innovative company in Sri Lanka sells 100% hand made paper products made out of recycled elephant pooh paper. There are no toxic chemicals used in their paper making process. Only basic bonding agents along with water soluble salt dyes for coloring are used. As no Bleach .. no Acids .. solutions are introduced during manufacturing, their handmade papers are of an ideal PH value for photograph preservation.
Sri Lanka is home to about a 10% of the estimated global total of 40,000 Asian elephants in the wild. Elephants are not being killed in Sri Lanka for their tusks or meat. But as a direct consequence of the conflict between Man and Elephant, it is likely that more than 4,000 elephants have been destroyed since 1950. Most of the protected areas inhabited by elephants are small. ( Less than a 1000 square kilometers in size )
These protected species could not live in an area where agriculture is the dominant form of land use unless a compensation system is covered the damage the elephants caused to farmers. There are no easy solutions for resolving the Human - Elephant conflict in Sri Lanka. Much will depend on how rural people perceive the worth of the elephant. To stop these unnecessary killing of elephants requires changing perceptions of the farmers who suffer constant depredations from the animals. Many are now convinced that the only way Elephants and Human beings can co exist successfully in the same environment is through finding ways to use the elephant as a sustainable economic resource.
Not only as an attraction for tourists, and why not a range of hand made paper products out of Elephant Dung ..
On average, an adult elephant produces about 180 to 200 kilograms of pooh per day. Moreover, it provides a way of converting a liability into an asset in conflict areas. Since an elephant’s diet is all vegetarian, the waste produced is basically raw cellulose. Thoroughly cleaned and processed, the cellulose is converted into a uniquely beautiful textured product, marketed as Pachyderm Paper .. This acid free, papyrus typed paper can be formed into art and construction projects, notebooks, cards, and assorted gift items where the only limitation is ones imagination. These products have proved extremely popular among many in the local population and among foreign tourists.
Although this paper may not completely resolve the ongoing Human Elephant conflict in Sri Lanka, its use for the benefit of the farmers who suffer from elephant depredations will certainly go some way in raising the tolerance of the farmers towards the elephant. If the elephant is used as an economic asset that contributes meaningfully to the welfare of the people, then the people themselves will not want to see elephant disappear from their area. In the final analysis, all of our conservation efforts will be futile if we do not have the support of the local communities.
Pachyderm Paper can play an important role in the conservation of its raw material provider, the Jumbo of course ..
Sri Lanka is home to about a 10% of the estimated global total of 40,000 Asian elephants in the wild. Elephants are not being killed in Sri Lanka for their tusks or meat. But as a direct consequence of the conflict between Man and Elephant, it is likely that more than 4,000 elephants have been destroyed since 1950. Most of the protected areas inhabited by elephants are small. ( Less than a 1000 square kilometers in size )
These protected species could not live in an area where agriculture is the dominant form of land use unless a compensation system is covered the damage the elephants caused to farmers. There are no easy solutions for resolving the Human - Elephant conflict in Sri Lanka. Much will depend on how rural people perceive the worth of the elephant. To stop these unnecessary killing of elephants requires changing perceptions of the farmers who suffer constant depredations from the animals. Many are now convinced that the only way Elephants and Human beings can co exist successfully in the same environment is through finding ways to use the elephant as a sustainable economic resource.
Not only as an attraction for tourists, and why not a range of hand made paper products out of Elephant Dung ..
On average, an adult elephant produces about 180 to 200 kilograms of pooh per day. Moreover, it provides a way of converting a liability into an asset in conflict areas. Since an elephant’s diet is all vegetarian, the waste produced is basically raw cellulose. Thoroughly cleaned and processed, the cellulose is converted into a uniquely beautiful textured product, marketed as Pachyderm Paper .. This acid free, papyrus typed paper can be formed into art and construction projects, notebooks, cards, and assorted gift items where the only limitation is ones imagination. These products have proved extremely popular among many in the local population and among foreign tourists.
Although this paper may not completely resolve the ongoing Human Elephant conflict in Sri Lanka, its use for the benefit of the farmers who suffer from elephant depredations will certainly go some way in raising the tolerance of the farmers towards the elephant. If the elephant is used as an economic asset that contributes meaningfully to the welfare of the people, then the people themselves will not want to see elephant disappear from their area. In the final analysis, all of our conservation efforts will be futile if we do not have the support of the local communities.
Pachyderm Paper can play an important role in the conservation of its raw material provider, the Jumbo of course ..
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