Paper out of elephant poo? Yes you heard that right! Its paper made from elephant poo and the folks at Haathi Chaap are crazy enough to make it. Haathi Chaap’s Vijendra Singh Shekawat and Mahima Mehra who struck gold out this idea decided to go ahead with it when they realized how much fibre is there in the poo. The elephant’s diet which is primarily vegetation, combined with a rather inactive digestive system makes elephant dung one of the best to make paper. The process of making these papers are similar to making handmade papers except that here they use the pachyderm’s dung. The colour of the paper depends entirely on what he/ she eats, which depends on what season of the year it is. So, from June to September, since the elephants eat jowar (sorghum) and bajra (pearl millet), the paper is darker in colour. And for the rest of the year they eat sugarcane, the paper is lighter in colour. Colours, if added, comprise of mostly vegetable and natural dyes and no bleach is used. The products Haathi Chaap churns out of these papers are collapsible photo frames, coasters, small souvenir bags, desk clocks, greeting cards, bookmarks etc. They are available online and in retail shops. You can know more about the venture here – http://elephantpoopaper.com
