From Poo to Paper: An Assam Story

Learn about recent developments in making paper from rhinoceros and elephant poop in Assam

Dastkari Haat Samiti

Dastkari Haat Samiti

Notebook with elephant images (2018-05-01) by Elly ExpressDastkari Haat Samiti

Paper Production in Assam

Dung collected from cows in India is used for many purposes from fertilizing crops, disinfecting a village hut and as cheap fuel for cooking. As it is considered useful and therefore sacred, dung does not have the same negative connotation in traditional societies as it does in the urban world.

Detail of coloured and handmade paper sheets (2018-05-01) by Elly ExpressDastkari Haat Samiti

In India, Sri Lanka and Thailand, small entrepreneurs have chosen the ecological route to preservation and waste management by using almost the same methods to convert elephant and rhino dung mixed with waste cloth into paper, since most of the grasses these animals eat are not fully digested and constitute a large part of their waste.

Greeting cards (2018-05-01) by Elly ExpressDastkari Haat Samiti

The use of dung began in Jaipur with the enterprising and innovative efforts of Vijender Singh who offers demonstrations of paper making and sells through his company Elly Express, under the brand Haathi Chaap (Elephant Imprint).

Mahesh Bora founder of Elrhino Unit (1905-07-09)Dastkari Haat Samiti

Mahesh Bora, a retired coal-mining engineer read about the elephant dung enterprise in Jaipur. Having been a nature lover all his life, and finding resonance with the idea of working on a livelihood project in his home state of Assam, he decided if Rajasthan offered dung, his own state offered both rhino and elephant dung in plenty from its own jungles.

When farming and agriculture were scarce, animals had the jungles to roam freely for food and shelter. Today they confront farmers as aggressors and pile their fields with dung.

Workers soaking and shorting elephant dung (2018-06-01) by Elrhino Eco Industries Pvt. Ltd.Dastkari Haat Samiti

Since elephants and rhinos were plentiful in Bora’s home state of Assam, he was inspired to set up a handmade paper making unit near home.

Here two women workers, Malavika Raha and Mallika Kalita, examine the cleaned, washed and boiled dung.

Fibre extracted from elephant dung (2018-06-01) by Elrhino Eco Industries Pvt. Ltd.Dastkari Haat Samiti

Rhino dung is highly fibrous. It is available only in legally protected forest areas. Access is occasional and limited but elephant dung is more freely available.

Mahesh Bora and his daughter Nisha at Elrhino Unit (1905-07-09)Dastkari Haat Samiti

Mahesh Bora is a dreamer. He lists the natural fibrous materials in Assam which can be found in plenty - banana, pineapple, water hyacinth.

He tells everybody his dream is to see entire villages making handmade paper.

Banana tree stalk soaking in water (2018-06-01) by Elrhino Eco Industries Pvt. Ltd.Dastkari Haat Samiti

Bananas are plentiful in Assam, and comes in handy when creating products out of dung paper. The long stalks of the banana tree are soaked in a natural water body till they turn brown from green.

Banana stalks cut shorter (2018-06-01) by Elrhino Eco Industries Pvt. Ltd.Dastkari Haat Samiti

Dried banana stalks are then made into strips for use as book covers. They are also converted into fibre for paper.

One of the processes in paper making at the Elrhino factory (2018-06-01) by Elrhino Eco Industries Pvt. Ltd.Dastkari Haat Samiti

Paper production at ElRhino factory in  Assam

Around 2000 rhinos live in Assam, and produce over 400 kilos of dung in 10 days. When paper is made out of dung mixed with cotton waste, every 1200 kilograms of paper saves 27 trees from being cut down. Since elephants and rhinos were plentiful in Bora’s home state of Assam, he was inspired to set up a handmade paper making unit near home.

Pulping textile waste for paper making (2018-06-01) by Elrhino Eco Industries Pvt. Ltd.Dastkari Haat Samiti

Hosiery and other textile waste lying in sacks behind the shed are shredded finely before being put through the pulping machine.

Operating the pulping machine at the Elrhino factory (2018-06-01) by Elrhino Eco Industries Pvt. Ltd.Dastkari Haat Samiti

Zakir Ali runs the pulping machine that pulps the shredded textile waste at the Elrhino factory.

Elephant dung is being mixed with textile waste (2018-06-01) by Elrhino Eco Industries Pvt. Ltd.Dastkari Haat Samiti

Rhino or elephant dung is mixed with the textile pulp.

One of the processes in paper making at the Elrhino factory (2018-06-01) by Elrhino Eco Industries Pvt. Ltd.Dastkari Haat Samiti

As in regular handmade paper making processes, each sheet is strained from the trough full of pulp, laid on a table and layered with muslin cloth to separate them.

Handmade paper making in Assam (2018-06-01) by Elrhino Eco Industries Pvt. Ltd.Dastkari Haat Samiti

Mallika Kalita and Malavika Raha are a pair who are adept at many processes in a factory of nine employees.

Workers at the Elrhino factory (2018-06-01) by Elrhino Eco Industries Pvt. Ltd.Dastkari Haat Samiti

In the rhino and dung paper making unit in Assam, a simple hand worked machine is used to press a pile of sheets of paper and cloth to dry out the water and flatten them.

Women workers in the Elrhino factory (2018-06-01) by Elrhino Eco Industries Pvt. Ltd.Dastkari Haat Samiti

The cloth separating each sheet has to be removed individually.

Mallika and Malavika at the handmade paper making unit in Assam are part of a small, but well-coordinated team of workers.

A woman worker hangs paper how to dry at the Elrhino factory (2018-06-01) by Elrhino Eco Industries Pvt. Ltd.Dastkari Haat Samiti

The style of drying paper at Elrhino's production facility, is broadly similar across handmade paper making units in different states, however in Sikkim each sheet is then pasted on individual trays and dried without any further calendaring.

Handmade paper making in AssamDastkari Haat Samiti

Papers are hung like clothes with clothes pegs on rows of wire near the ceiling overhead to dry.

Malavika Raha sorts handmade paper at the Elrhino Factory (2018-06-01) by Elrhino Eco Industries Pvt. Ltd.Dastkari Haat Samiti

Unlike other units where a separate group or person works on each part of the process, in the Assam unit a small group of workers know every stage of the tasks at hand in converting dung to clean sheets of paper.

Handmade paper stacked for dispatch (2018-06-01) by Elrhino Eco Industries Pvt. Ltd.Dastkari Haat Samiti

The sheets of paper are counted and categorized as they are stacked. Most handmade paper has tell-tale edges which look frayed, but is actually because shreds of textile pulp remain uneven at the edges.

Detail of Rhino dung paper (2018-06-01) by Elrhino Eco Industries Pvt. Ltd.Dastkari Haat Samiti

Rhino dung paper is discernible by its smaller flecks of darker fibre that gets mixed with the textile pulp. Elephant dung residue is more stringy and fibrous.

Leaf - impressioned handmade paper in the making (2018-06-01) by Elrhino Eco Industries Pvt. Ltd.Dastkari Haat Samiti

Embellishing the paper

Once the paper sheets are ready, local artisans fabricate accessories using natural materials found locally in Assam.

Workers at Elrhino factory (2018-06-01) by Elrhino Eco Industries Pvt. Ltd.Dastkari Haat Samiti

Once the paper sheets are ready, Kamal Kalita (left), Neetu Soud (in the centre), and Rupohi Bhuyian (right), fabricate accessories.

They create products with dung paper, bamboo and banana stalk strips and other such natural materials found locally in Assam.

Narrow bamboo strips used for imbellishing handmade paper products (2018-06-01) by Elrhino Eco Industries Pvt. Ltd.Dastkari Haat Samiti

Narrow bamboo strips are cut with a simple knife.

A sheet of paper with narrow bamboo strips (2018-06-01) by Elrhino Eco Industries Pvt. Ltd.Dastkari Haat Samiti

Bamboo strips are inserted into the paper to form a textured surface for a product.

Wine bottle cover in elephant dung with bamboo strips (2018-06-01) by Elrhino Eco Industries Pvt. Ltd.Dastkari Haat Samiti

When inserted into paper, bamboo strips form a designed surface. This becomes a decorative carrier bag for gifting a bottle of wine.

Note book with water hyacinth cover and elephant dung paper (2018-06-01) by Elrhino Eco Industries Pvt. Ltd.Dastkari Haat Samiti

Locally procured water hyacinth is used to make an attractive cover for a notebook containing paper made of rhino or elephant dung made in the Elrhino factory.

Handmade paper table lamp (2018-06-01) by Elrhino Eco Industries Pvt. Ltd.Dastkari Haat Samiti

Banana and bamboo strips interwoven with handmade paper at the back form a frame and body for an eco-friendly table lamp.

Detail of elephant dung paper with silk filaments (2018-06-01) by Elrhino Eco Industries Pvt. Ltd.Dastkari Haat Samiti

Waste silk threads from a weaving establishment nearby add an interesting natural surface pattern to dung paper.

Detail of elephant dung paper with green silk filaments (2018-06-01) by Elrhino Eco Industries Pvt. Ltd.Dastkari Haat Samiti

Green silk threads in chemical dyed colours offer a colour range to decorate elephant dung paper.

Handmade paper embellishment (2018-06-01) by Elrhino Eco Industries Pvt. Ltd.Dastkari Haat Samiti

Elrhino workers demonstrate how fresh leaf impressions can be made on the surface of the paper to add design and an emphasis on nature.

Detail of leaf impression on paper (2018-06-01) by Elrhino Eco Industries Pvt. Ltd.Dastkari Haat Samiti

When the leaf is removed, a delicate impression is left behind.

Detail of leaf impression on paper (2018-06-01) by Elrhino Eco Industries Pvt. Ltd.Dastkari Haat Samiti

Since all these processes are done by hand, randomness, non-standardization and a closeness to nature’s imperfections, impurities and beauty are its hallmark.

Assorted stationery (2018-06-01) by Elrhino Eco Industries Pvt. Ltd.Dastkari Haat Samiti

Products

The stories of determined successful entrepreneurs, like Mahesh Bora who have chosen the ecological route to preservation and waste management, and who define success on their own terms, demonstrate that Mahatma Gandhi’s legacy of saying a truly sustainable world is possible is still alive, with immense potential for employment in different pockets of India.

Handmade paper carry bag (2018-06-01) by Elrhino Eco Industries Pvt. Ltd.Dastkari Haat Samiti

Carrier bags for gifting are made particularly attractive with uneven leaf impressions to enhance the appeal of their dung paper.

Handmade paper note book (2018-06-01) by Elrhino Eco Industries Pvt. Ltd.Dastkari Haat Samiti

Notebook covers bring in a bit of bawdy humour. It shows cartoon drawings of an elephant and a rhino emitting gases.

Handmade paper notebook (2018-06-01) by Elrhino Eco Industries Pvt. Ltd.Dastkari Haat Samiti

A notebook made at the Elrhino factory tells a funny story of an elephant and a rhino helping each other go through the process of providing poo for paper. Naughty, but fun!

Worker showing marbled handmade paper (2018-05-01) by Kumarappa National Handmade Paper InstituteDastkari Haat Samiti

Read more about Handmade Paper industry of India:

- Elephant dung paper in Rajasthan
- Mountain plants to paper in Sikkim

Credits: Story

Text: Jaya Jaity
Photography: Chirodeep Chaudhuri, Subinoy Das, Charu Verma, Rajeev Kumar,
Artisans: Kumarappa National Handmade Paper Institute, Salim Kagzi,Vijender Singh Shekhawat ,Mahesh Bora,Borung-Polok,Jamyang Dorjee,Rajeev Kumar,Qamar Dagar,Irshad Hussain Farooqi,Ram Soni
Ground Facilitator: Jaya Jaitly, Charu Verma,Subinoy Das
Documentary Video: Charu Verma, Chirodeep Chaudhuri, Subinoy Das, Jaya Jaitly
Curation: Ruchira Verma


Read more about handmade paper and calligraphy here:

Research and Technology
Production
Products
Calligraphy in Sikkim
Rajeev Kumar
Qamar Dagar
Irshad Farooqui
Sanjhi

Credits: All media
The story featured may in some cases have been created by an independent third party and may not always represent the views of the institutions, listed below, who have supplied the content.
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