We should also be careful about Rural Economy

COW DUNG PAPER AND ALLIED PRODUCT PROJECT

The international demand for handmade paper and its value-added products are increasing. Entrepreneurs are being looked upon with the maximum growth potential in handmade paper industry.
Paper from Cow Dung
Since the cow dung contains approximately 40-48% of fiber that can be used to manufacture hand made paper singly or with the combination of other fibrous agro product like leptidania (Kheemp), AAK and/or cotton rags. Because Raw material here in this case is either free of cost or very cheap Gau Shalas (COW PROTECTION CENTERS) and Big dairies in rural area can establish the Hand made Paper unit as additional money making unit within their business. The machinery cost though differs from nation to nation still that may be a very viable unit for any country particularly in rural areas. In India we calculate the maximum cost for a unit Rupees 15 Lacs besides cost of land.
One thousand cows give us on and average 2500 kg of dry dung that can be converted into 1000 kg of pure 100% cow dung hand made paper sheets. It is advisable to blend the cow dung with banana fiber (20-25%), or cotton hosiery cuttings (40-50%) to obtain best quality of hand made paper. Such papers can fetch a substantial income. Thus we get 1200 to 1500 kg (80 to100 Rims) of hand made paper fetching Rupees 160000.00 to 200000.00 per day.
It is pertinent to mention here that we have to use 40 to 48% of cow dung for manufacturing hand made paper. Rest of the cow dung (52 to 60%) can very well be used to manufacture bio gas and than for fertilizer purposes.
Expenses wise estimates are very clear. On raw material we have to put nothing. 200 kg of banana fiber may cost Rs 20000, 400 kg of Hosiery cuttings may cost Rs 6000-00. we have to use some 4% chemical to separate lignin portion of the fiber and bleaching agent to decolorize the pulp. Alternative use of Kheemp fiber or AAk fiber have negligible cost however we will pay to the villagers for AAk or Kheemp Rs 2 per Kg. if they bring lots. We have to keep 4 workers semiskilled and 1 unskilled_ one technical supervisor and a manager/Administrator per day wages for them will not exceed Rs 10000/-. Thus profitability can be esteemed.

Handmade papers made from cow dung have an elegant appeal and an exquisite surface for writing. Skilled makers use a variety of raw materials for making handmade papers. We will use all the techniques for manufacturing all types of hand made paper for marketing. The plus point with us will be the publishers of all the religious books, Gita, Ramayan and Puraans will like to print those scriptures on Cow Dung paper. That will be a most sacramental and attraction of every Hindu house in the world.
Cow dung Hand made paper can be manufactured in appealing varieties, with small dried flowers and leaves, colored fiber etc., making them attractive. It's popularity will be increasing day by day due to the effective inbuilt qualities as it has huge tensile, bursting, tearing and double fold strength as compared to mill paper and it does not turn brittle due to aging. More so ever it is termite free. The possibilities for what can be accomplished with handmade paper and paper pulp are limitless. These are effectively used in making a variety of decorative items, Marriage invitation cards, greeting cards, wallpapers, carry bags, gift boxes, art portfolios and much more. Also in the stationery field many items like paper letterheads, visiting cards, envelopes, note pads, memo cubes and many more items are seen to be made of handmade paper. A wide range of raw materials, such as bamboo, wood grass, rice and wheat straw, jute, rags and waste paper may also be blended with cow dung to manufacture variety of other items.
The pulp and paper industry in various parts of the world has recently experienced enormous growth, coupled with consolidation due to the value addition activities like embossing embroidery on handmade paper etc. and that generates more local employment; it is an environmentally sound technology, depleting less resources and causing less pollution than paper mill factories; and it can produce certain specialized varieties of paper, for example, watermark, filter paper and drawing sheets, etc. The cost difference between handmade paper and mill made paper is marginal.
The concern about the disappearance of forests, coupled with renewed interest in the quality of papers generated new study of the paper maker's materials, especially the pulps and fibers. With several technological changes taking place in the paper industry, the governments all over the world have to rethink their land use policies and conservation strategies to protect the natural resources. The international demand for handmade paper and its value-added products are increasing at an approximate rate of 30-35 percent a year, which is phenomenal, compared to five-seven percent a decade back. The growing preference for environment-friendly products worldwide and increasing demand for handmade paper products have eradicated the limitations of the handmade paper industry and once again it has emerged as one of the market leaders. In the era of globalization, handmade paper is one of the prime sectors, which has a major say.
Besides hand made paper the local resources added with the cow dung and lime may be used to manufacture building material like bricks, Particle boards, varnishes, paints and distempers etc.
All these may bring the drastic change in the rural economy.

The details may be drawn about the cost factor and profitability according to the place where the project is to be established.
Damodar Mishra