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Charity worker harvests elephant dung

7:13pm Monday 25th August 2008

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People in Blackbird Leys can breathe easily again - their estate no longer smells of elephant dung.

But the strange whiff had a purpose - for one man was making brass from muck, quite literally.

A section of the estate has smelled for the past fortnight thanks to Pegasus Road resident Russell Price.

Mr Price, 62, who works for the Church Mission Society, ordered 50kg of the dung from Whipsnade Zoo as part of a project to make paper from elephant faeces.

For days he boiled the poo in a steel cauldron in order to turn it into a pulp suitable for making more than 500 sheets.

Mr Price used "big balls of elephant poo". He added: "It has a strong, healthy, slightly acrid odour. We told the neighbours we were going to be washing the elephant dung in the garden, but they are lovely understanding people, so it was okay."

Mr Price and his wife Sue had the arduous task of washing the dung by hand in order to separate fibres which were suitable for the paper making process.

The fibres were mixed with caustic soda and boiled in a vast steel cauldron in their garden for two hours.

The couple then washed the excrement again, leaving it in a porridge-like pulp.

Mr Price took the pulp to the Greenbelt Arts Festival in Cheltenham over the Bank Holiday weekend as part of his charity's link with African charity Neema Crafts.

Hundreds of people were invited to dip a gauze into the pulp, which turned into writing paper when it dried.

Mission partner Susie Hart set up the crafts workshop in Iringa, Tanzania, in 2003 to teach deaf people in the town how to recycle materials to make money.

She started with three workers, but now has 90 people with a range of disabilities employed at the workshop in Iringa.

The workshop produces paper, candles, textiles and beaded jewellery from a range of recycled materials.

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Your Say YourOxford Mail

Mike, East Oxford says...
9:12pm Mon 25 Aug 08

What smell problem?

No one noticed the difference from the normal stink!

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Mike, East Oxford says...
10:01pm Mon 25 Aug 08

Mike wrote:
What smell problem? No one noticed the difference from the normal stink!
Sorry Fans!! Forgot the ta-daaaahhh!!!

Ta-Daaaaaaaahhhhhhh!
!!!!

I shall be back with some more hilariously funny comments next time there's a story about Council Estates!!!

Anyway, I bought a great new book today which I'm halfway through, so I'd better get back to it. Nailbiting stuff. Apparently the reason Noddy's car broke down in Toytown Town square was because it ran out of petrol!!! Wow I never saw that one coming at all!! Great plot twist or what?!! Can't wait to see whether Big Ears is going to give him a push or not!!!

Don't worry more chav baiting to follow fans!!

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I hate do-gooders, Oxford says...
11:35pm Mon 25 Aug 08

What a d*ckhead, if you want paper go to Hobbycraft, what the hell did he want to make it out of elephant sh*t for? What point was this wishy washy buying my place in heaven do gooder making? Another one of these 'christians' helping the little coloured people in Africa and getting a nice warm patronising feeling from it.

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Jock, Headington says...
1:45am Tue 26 Aug 08

I lived in Iringa for a while - never saw an elephant though! Diamonds, yes, but no elephants.

You used to see DC-3s though touching down and flying off again because gazelle ran across the runway in front of them. And strange, rather barmy, Belgian ex-WWII pilots!

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Zimmer, Oxon says...
8:12am Tue 26 Aug 08

I suppose it would be all right for 'Bog Paper' a bit of like for like!

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Bob Howse, Testicle Ward 4-JR 2 says...
3:50pm Tue 26 Aug 08

I would prefer the smell of elephant dung rather than the usual 'smell'that emanates from Blackbird Leys. Those with gardens larger than postage stamps could use the dung for fertiliseur and compost. Have you ever seen the women of blackbird leys? They wear their black eyes like make-up.

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Mr Ison, England says...
5:14pm Tue 26 Aug 08

...and those toothy grins.

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LISA, oxfordshire says...
5:39pm Tue 26 Aug 08

Blackbird Leys has allways smells of s hit.its full of drug dealers rapists all the scum of the earth. knock it the s hit hole down.and put them down like the dogs that they are. you get me innit know what i mean man.

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Tom, says...
6:01pm Tue 26 Aug 08

LISA wrote:
Blackbird Leys has allways smells of s hit.its full of drug dealers rapists all the scum of the earth. knock it the s hit hole down.and put them down like the dogs that they are. you get me innit know what i mean man.
Lisa i permit you to make love to me.


you sound hot

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Joe, Marston Road says...
6:12pm Tue 26 Aug 08

Tom wrote:
LISA wrote: Blackbird Leys has allways smells of s hit.its full of drug dealers rapists all the scum of the earth. knock it the s hit hole down.and put them down like the dogs that they are. you get me innit know what i mean man.
Lisa i permit you to make love to me. you sound hot
Tom,

You are getting excited again!

Calm down!

Your perfect lady friend is just around the corner in Cowley Road!

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Mr Ison, England says...
6:39pm Tue 26 Aug 08

Ritually bathing or Bhurka wearing?

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Christine, cowley says...
7:05pm Tue 26 Aug 08

Ison, Joe and Tom came too. A party of three. Racist, hateful, predictable, boring prats. Lisa it's your lucky day!!!!

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Mr Ison, Assizes England says...
7:31pm Tue 26 Aug 08

Shrews fiddle for that one.

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Eddy Grundy, Ambridge says...
8:03pm Tue 26 Aug 08

Christine wrote:
Ison, Joe and Tom came too. A party of three. Racist, hateful, predictable, boring prats. Lisa it's your lucky day!!!!
what you mean christine is if you dont agree with a comment,they must be racist-is that the intellect of your arguement then get lost,you vile maggot. those days of pc bullying are over. we have now grown a backbone and are standing up to you pc cowards,500 arrests at the notting hill carnival a full riot took place,any comments on that pc nutter christine? i did not think so some how lol.

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Mr Ison, England says...
8:16pm Tue 26 Aug 08

They coppers with the gleam in their eyes love those juicy events,an opportunity to incite and wade in truncheon flying.

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Comments are closed on this article.

Russell Price with balls of muck Russell Price with balls of muck

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