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WORKING TO IMPROVE THE WELFARE OF ASIAN ELEPHANTS IN LAO PDR
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Tusker Times... December 2011 Edition Hot off the Press! ElefantAsia proudly presents its newly published book ‘32 Souls’. Produced and printed entirely in the Lao PDR, this truly delightful book captures the essence of the Asian elephant and its importance within Lao history interwoven through culture and heritage. Beautiful imagery portrays the life of the mahout and his charge, journeying through legend and myth, while taking a behind the scenes look at Laos’ celebration of this living icon, the Elephant Festival. Written in both English and Lao language, ’32 Souls’ examines the world in which we live in, a world where this magnificent creature is being pushed to extinction and asks us to re-evaluate, its opening line asking the pertinent question ‘Can you imagine a world without elephants?’ Titled to encompass the Lao belief that elephants and humans each possess 32 kwan or body spirits, ’32 Souls’ makes a welcome addition to any well-read coffee table and can be purchased on our website.
Jumbo pooper scoopers! If life serves you lemons... make lemonade, but what if life serves you elephant poop, heaps and heaps of the stuff? This is the dilemma facing staff at the Elephant Conservation Center... and their solution? Well naturally it is to make elephant dung paper! Elephants eat between 200-250kg of forage a day. As uniquely poor digesters, roughly 50% of their intake comes out the other end providing copious amounts of fibrous material, and so starts the simple process of making elephant dung paper. Collected and dried, elephant dung is washed thoroughly with water and disinfectant leaving only the fibre content. After carefully sorting, ensuring all non-dung fibre is removed, it is boiled in a vat for at least four hours making the fibres clean and soft. Now similar to the manufacturing process of handmade paper, the boiled pulp is put through its paces or namely pulp beaters when colours or dyes can be added. Mixed with water, the pulp is then lifted up on flat sieves to dry into reams of paper. Once dried the paper is smoothed with stones or by passing it through a calendaring machine. And voila... smooth, usable poop paper! Elephant dung is a waste product and completely free. It is renewable source of raw material unlike wood pulp used to make conventional paper, which strips bare our precious forests. Making paper from elephant dung at the Center is not only economic and environmentally friendly, but provides a sustainable source of income for local ethnic people involved in its production, as well as supporting our elephant conservation efforts. 100% bacteria free and odourless, elephant dung paper is a novel way to communicate with family and friends. So forget about emails, Facebook and the like... put pen to paper, poop paper and make a difference. Bottoms up!