START A ELEPHANT POO PAPER MAKING

  

START A ELEPHANT POO PAPER  MAKING

Animals which eat a lot of vegetable matter and have poor digestive systems generate poo that is suitable for making paper. The animal droppings are washed and boiled for many hours. The solution is then blended or spun to soften and cut the fibers. Other things such as dye and/or other fibrous materials may be be added to give the solution the proper consistency. The slurry is then sifted onto rectangular sieves and allowed to dry. When dry, the thin layer of plant fibers is peeled off the sieve and made into paper and paper products
The method used for making elephant dung paper is more or less the same as making other varieties of handmade paper. There are minor changes we have had to make because of the fibrous nature of the raw material. Making sure that the paper is not harmful for the papermaker as well as the user was our biggest challenge… so disinfectants are used to make the paper as bacteria free as possible.

1. COLLECTING THE POO

Dung is collected from various elephant stables. The colour of the dung varies from season to season, as what the elephants eat depends on the crop of the season.

2. CLEANING THE POO


The cleaning of the dung is one of the important stages… the dung is washed thoroughly with water in large tanks. At the end, all what is left is the fibre. Since this process is water intensive, it is preferably done close to cultivated land… the water acts as a fantastic fertilizer.

3. POO IN THE POT - COOKING!

Paper can only be made with this fibre if its soft enough to be beaten into pulp. To get the fibre ready for the next stage of pulping, it is cooked in water for over 4-5 hours with salt and then washed with hydrogen peroxide to complete the first stage of making the paper bacteria free.

4. SORTING

After cooking, the water is drained out and the dung is left to dry out in the sun. Once its dry, it is sorted and any non-usable fibre is removed.

5. PULPING

After the fibre has been softened and sorted, it goes into the Hollander Beater, to be beaten to pulp. This process takes about 4 hours. The fibre goes through the process of being beaten into very fine pulp and also being washed again. Disinfectant is added here to kill any bacteria still in the pulp.

6. LIFTING THE POO PULP

The pulp is then taken to cement/ wooden vats filled with water. Depending on the weight of the paper to be made, the required amount of pulp is mixed with the water. A flat sieve-like mould is used to lift a layer of pulp out of water. A sheet of paper is made.

7. COUCHING

The sheet is then placed on a muslin cloth by applying gentle pressure onto the mould. This process continues till there is a heap of about 100 sheets.

8. DRYING THE POOPER

The heap of interleaved sheets is then placed in a hydraulic press and compressed to drain out as much water as possible. The paper is then dried on lines, in a shady area. Direct sunlight is not good for drying the sheets unless they’re white as the colour fades under the sun.

9. CALENDERING

Paper sheets are then calendered to make them smoother and writable. Calendering involves interleaving a bunch of sheets with zinc coated metal sheets and passing them under pressure, back and forth between two rollers.The sheets are then cut to the specified size, packed and sent to their required destinations.

PRODUCT CATEGORIES:

 Bags

Elephant poo paper bags certainly add a whacky value to the gifts you’re giving, so you could use these for anything from a book to a blanket and from a perfume bottle to a potted plant (a small one please!!).

Frames


Put your favorite photographs in these colourful elephant poo paper frames. We also have a range of collapsible ones which can be used as greeting cards.


Photo Albums


Handy pocket photo books and corner-cut albums to store your photographs…. memory books in different sizes to store all your memories…. we try and have them all.

Notebooks


All kinds of journals… bright and funky for the adventurous, smart and slick for the corporate and handy ones for the travelers. Have a look at the range in our catalogue.

Stationery


Stationery sets for those who still believe in writing letters, notepads to put next to the phone or files to brighten up an office… its all there.


Cards & Tags


Imagine receiving New Year greetings on an elephant poo paper greeting card. Or an ele poo gift tag on the present you’ve just received. Would be something you remember for a while.

Funky Stuff


Here’s something for people with a sense of humour… Our magnetic clocks, calendars as well as the gulel sets are a hit.

Kinck-Knacks


Souvenirs these are… a bookmark or a set of coasters!! Can be used as giveaways in school as well as conferences.