Mr. Ellie Pooh Elephant Journal

Artisan Organization: Mr. Ellie Pooh

Country: Sri Lanka

This journal protects wild elephants by giving them economic value.

Elephants eat about 330 pounds a day. They eat grasses, shrubs and anything they can get their trunks on. Thanks to this high volume, all vegan diet, elephant dung makes the perfect fibrous base for rich, recycled paper.

Pooja lives in a region where elephants are being killed at an alarming rate – simply because they are viewed as a nuisance. As development in Sri Lanka expands, demand for agricultural land grows. And wild elephants destroy crops. To protect their livelihoods, farmers kill an average of 2.4 elephants per week. But thanks to Pooja and Pooh Paper, over 50 Sri Lankan paper artisans can earn a living, and wild elephants can now be seen as an economic asset.