Once upon a time (before email was invented) people communicated to each other via letters. Some people would put a lot of thought into the style of handwriting paper that they would use as it could convey a lot about them, for example plain, floral, cartoon or even animals.

So when I needed to write a personal letter for the first time in a while, I went into my stationary box and came across a set which my father brought me last year. Now as the paper is made out of elephant dung, I am wondering what that conveys about me?

Now if you have not come across elephant dung paper before then you are probably wondering many things (How? Does it smell? Why?) Apart from knowing that it does not smell, I did not have answers to the other questions so I decided to do some research.  The paper which my father brought me was produced by a company called Eco Maximus, so I checked out their website and came across this diagram explaining the process.

So that’s how! What about the why? Well it’s all do with elephant conservation in
Thailand and of course recycling. Eco-Maximus Ltd works in conjunction with the Millennium Elephant Foundation in Thailand where a little dung really does go a long, long way, as waste from rescued elephants is recycled to create stationary products. These products are then sold to help to raise essential funds for elephant conservation in Thailand, a country which has a major human – elephant conflict problem.

It is Eco-Maximus and the Millennium Elephant Foundations hope to create a mutual and beneficial relationship between man and beast rather than the conflicts that currently exist. If you have not lost the art of letter writing and would like to purchase some recycled elephant dung paper please click here:

Happy letter writing!