_Elephas maximus maximus- is the Latin name for the Sri Lankan elephant, a sub species of the Asian elephant. It grows to a weight of up to 5 tonnes and eats on average 180 kg of vegetation a day. The elephant produces 100 kg of dung per day and when Thusitha Ranasinghe discovered the wonderful paper making qualities of this cellulose rich material Maximus Elephant Paper was born.

Beginning in a small factory in Kegalle, in what is now the Millennium Elephant Foundation (affiliated to the World Society for the Protection of Animals), Maximus has expanded to employ more than 120 local villagers. A second factory has now been built in Dambulla, situated on the elephant migration trail. Here they process dung collected by locals from the wild elephant population under the ‘Peace Paper Plan’. A percentage of the profits are still returned to the Foundation, from where its original raw materials came.

To make this beautiful handmade paper, the dung is sun-dried and then boiled in a pressurised boiler at 120° to kill any bacteria. Then it is mixed to form a pulp and dyed using salt dyes, before it is put into a mould and submerged in water. When lifted from the mould the paper is put into a press that squeezes the water out and the sheet of paper is then dried naturally in the shade. No tree is cut down to make the paper and no chemicals or acids are used in its production. Making 660 A4 sheets of paper from 10 kg of dried dung, it provides an environmentally friendly alternative to timber pulp paper.

The Elephants
Maximus aims to use the “Elephant Dung” paper to create and then further raise awareness of the tragic circumstances that surround the Sri Lankan Elephant. They are also developing strategies aimed at improving the socio–economic situation that currently restricts under-privileged people living in rural areas. Conflict between man and wild elephants over land are severely detrimental to both. Their vision is to bring these two together by implementing Project “Peace Paper”. In conflict areas they hope to create autonomous and self-sustaining re-cycling plants that make Elephant dung paper from wild elephant dung. This they hope will create a mutual and beneficial relationship between man and beast rather than the conflicts that currently exist.