At the Millennium Elephant Foundation a little dung goes a long, long way, as elephant waste is recycled and turned into sheets of paper. A factory on-site produces hand-made paper to any thickness and a variety of colors. Paper can be bought in the museum at the MEF.
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The texture and color of the 'pachyderm paper' varies depending on the diet of the elephants, and how well they digest their food. The paper also differs depending on what other ingredients are mixed with the dung in the manufacturing process, for example tea, paddy husks or onion peel. The paper is mixed with dyes to get dozens of different colors.
Maximus (Pvt) Limited has a factory and retail outlet in the capital Colombo. Using the recycled paper they take orders for corporate stationery, calendars, cards, bags, boxes. In fact, anything you can think of, they can make.
In addition to recycling, Maximus also goes along way to aiding and improving rural development in the local area. The factory at the MEF employs 30 people who all live in the local area. This not only gives the local people the chance to work close to their village but also helps to educate them in the issues relating to elephant conservation.
MEF and Maximus have a special relationship; Maximus uses MEF land and an unlimited supply of elephant dung. MEF get a percentage of profits plus as much as re-cycled paper as it needs.