Maesa Elephant Camp in ChiangMai Thailand
In our second day in ChiangMai we visited multiple tourist sites and our first stop was in Maesa Elephant Camp. The camp is home of one of the largest assembly of elephants in Thailand. Their goal is to create a healthy and natural environment for these elephants while trying to conserve and breed them.
Of course trying to preserve these magnificent animals requires a lot of money and it seems that the camp is self sustaining in generating healthy revenues for this purpose. They generate revenues first and foremost from the tourists that come and visit that camp. They also sell a lot of souvenirs including elephant paintings (Paintings done by the elephants themselves). The elephants in the camp actually holds a Guiness World record for the most expensive painting created by a group of elephants (the painting was sold for 1.5 million baht). But the most interesting part of the camp is when I heard they were also making money from elephant dung. I thought it was probably through making fertilizers but I was totally caught off guard when our guide said they were making paper from elephant poop.
Everyone knows that papers are made from trees and to finally find a way to create paper by using a tree-free raw material is actually revolutionary. Thailand and Africa are already manufacturing paper from elephant dung but how do they do it? Well, the secret is in what these elephants eat. These elephants eat a lot of bananas, sugarcane, and a lot of varieties of plants which is high in fiber. In the paper making process we need to break down the fiber which apparently our elephant friends have already done through their digestive system. I read somewhere that on an average an elephant produces 50kg of dung per day that could produce 200 sheets of paper.
Of course trying to preserve these magnificent animals requires a lot of money and it seems that the camp is self sustaining in generating healthy revenues for this purpose. They generate revenues first and foremost from the tourists that come and visit that camp. They also sell a lot of souvenirs including elephant paintings (Paintings done by the elephants themselves). The elephants in the camp actually holds a Guiness World record for the most expensive painting created by a group of elephants (the painting was sold for 1.5 million baht). But the most interesting part of the camp is when I heard they were also making money from elephant dung. I thought it was probably through making fertilizers but I was totally caught off guard when our guide said they were making paper from elephant poop.
Everyone knows that papers are made from trees and to finally find a way to create paper by using a tree-free raw material is actually revolutionary. Thailand and Africa are already manufacturing paper from elephant dung but how do they do it? Well, the secret is in what these elephants eat. These elephants eat a lot of bananas, sugarcane, and a lot of varieties of plants which is high in fiber. In the paper making process we need to break down the fiber which apparently our elephant friends have already done through their digestive system. I read somewhere that on an average an elephant produces 50kg of dung per day that could produce 200 sheets of paper.
You might be wondering why the hell am I talking about shit... well to be honest I find it very intriguing that we can truly have a "zero waste" facility in the form of the Maesa Elephant Camp. I hate the idea of wastage and being able to earn from elephant dung which is the primary waste this camp generates is amazing. I'm also pro self-sustaining environmental projects that does not solely depend on donations but could actually make money to further their cause. Maesa Elephant Camp is a great example of this and discovering a business opportunity from shit makes you want to just applaud those entrepreneurial minds who thought of it.
Franco Ongkingco helping make Paper!
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