Mangaluru: Imagine flipping through a notebook made from elephant dung. What sounds unusual is exactly what Vijendra Shekhawat from Rajasthan has turned into an eco-friendly business. His elephant dung paper products, under the ‘Elephant Poo Paper’ brand, drew curiosity and admiration at The Indian Artisans Haat, which concluded on Sunday, with visitors fascinated to learn that the pages once came from an elephant.Shekhawat, from Rajasthan’s Shekhawati region, studied only up to Class 10 before financial hardship forced him to drop out of school. His family traditionally made handmade paper from cotton and banana fibre. As a teenager, he helped at home, never imagining a chance encounter would change his life.He told TOI that at 17, during a trip to Delhi via Jaipur with a client, he saw elephants up close for the first time at Amer Fort. Fascinated, he stood inside the car and then behind one of the elephants. “Moments later, nearly 4kg of elephant dung fell at my feet. My client pulled me away just in time to avoid worse embarrassment,” he said.While others recoiled, Shekhawat saw a possibility. “I knew bagasse (dry sugarcane fibre) was used in handmade paper. The texture of elephant dung, rich in fibre, seemed similar. When I shared the idea with my client, she laughed. My mother warned me not to speak of it; my father was so upset that he asked me to leave home. For 3 months, I wandered as far as Himachal Pradesh before returning,” he said.Determined, he persuaded his reluctant cousin Jai Singh to help collect dung from Amer Fort. “On a scooter with three plastic bags, we transported the cargo. One bag leaked, soaking my cousin’s jeans and nearly ending the partnership.” Initial experiments using sodium hydroxide and sodium peroxide removed the smell but weakened the fibre. Family members declared it a failure. “Unwilling to give up, I tried again, blending 25% cotton with 75% dung and later replacing harsh chemicals with wood ash and baking soda to keep it eco-friendly. The breakthrough worked,” he explained.Now based in Jaipur, he runs a unit with 23 women from a nearby village who craft notebooks, board games, coasters, carry bags and magnets from elephant dung. The dung is sourced from Hathi Gaon, and books cost Rs 300–600 (100 pages). Visitors can stay at his home, learn the craft and enjoy organic meals.
