Sri Lanka is home to about a tenth of the estimated global total of 40,000 Asian elephants in the wild. Elephants are not being killed in Sri Lanka for their tusks, as tuskers are rare; they are not being killed for meat, since no one eats elephant meat; they are not being killed for their hides, since there is no market for elephant hides in the leather industry. Instead, elephants are being killed simply because they interfere with agriculture. Since 1950, it is likely that more than 4,000 elephants have been destroyed as a direct consequence of the conflict between man and elephant.

The elephant is running out of space in Sri Lanka. Most of the protected areas inhabited by elephants are small, less than 1000 sq. km in size (900 sq. miles). Nevertheless, elephants, especially the bulls, may range over hundreds of square kilometers in the course of a season. Their sheer size and gargantuan appetite mean that elephants and people cannot live together where agriculture is the dominant form of land use, unless the damage they cause to farmers can be compensated. There are no easy solutions for resolving the human-elephant conflict in Sri Lanka. Much will depend on how rural people perceive the worth of the elephant. To stop the wanton killing of elephants requires changing the perceptions of the farmers who suffer constant depredations from the animals. Many are now convinced that the only way elephants and human beings can exist successfully in the same environment is through finding ways to use the elephant as a sustainable economic resource.

Elephant dung may be that resource. It is a commodity that is freely available. On average, an adult elephant produces about 180-200 kg (500 lbs) of it per day. Moreover, it provides a way of converting a liability into an asset in conflict areas.

Until now, no one had any use for it. However, project Maximus, designed to manufacture paper from it, may help change the perception of the farmers of the economic value of the elephant in conflict areas.

Since an elephant’s diet is all vegetarian, the waste produced is basically raw cellulose. Thoroughly cleaned and processed, the cellulose is converted into a uniquely beautiful textured product, marketed as “Ellie Pooh Paper”. This acid free, linen-like papyrus-type paper can be formed into art and construction projects, notebooks, cards and assorted gift items where the only limitation is ones imagination. These products have proved extremely popular among many in the local population and among foreign tourists.

Although this paper may not completely resolve the ongoing human-elephant conflict in Sri Lanka, its use for the benefit of the farmers who suffer from elephant depredations will certainly go some way in raising the tolerance of the farmers towards the elephant. If the elephant is used as an economic asset that contributes meaningfully to the welfare of the people, then the people themselves will not want to see it disappear from their area. In the final analysis, all of our conservation efforts will be futile if we do not have the support of the local communities. “Ellie Pooh Paper” can play an important role in the conservation of its provider.

The Mr Ellie Pooh and Maximus Too Mission Statement

The long term plans of Mr Ellie Pooh and Maximus are to introduce what has been coined Project Peace Paper. The idea is to help reduce the Human/Elephant conflict that currently rages in the rural village areas in Sri Lanka. Our Companies have plans to open paper re-cycling plants in rural areas, train villagers in paper making techniques, and sell our finished goods worldwide. This newly created industry can then directly contribute to the local economy. Our hopes are that such an initiative will self educate the villagers into living, working and respecting the elephant rather than struggling and fighting against them.