Now colourful toys from paper pulp hit market

Toys prepared from paper pulp.

A variety of toys prepared from paper pulp.

Toys prepared from paper pulp.

Toys prepared from paper pulp.

 A jewellery box prepared from paper pulp.

Pakshikere, a non-descript village located 23 km away from Mangaluru, is creating awareness with a wide range of eco-friendly every day products made from waste.

Among the many products made from recycled waste, toys made from paper mache or paper pulp are the new attractions of this social entrepreneurship called ‘Paper Seed’. “We are promoting these toys or Mangaluru Gombe on the lines of Channapatana toys,” informs Paper Seed founder Nithin Vas.

Vas, also an artist, says Mangaluru is known for beaches, temples and churches. But there is nothing to take back as a memory of their visit for tourists. Paper Seed thus wants Mangaluru Toys to reflect the culture of region. “No plastic was used in making of Mangaluru Toys. Natural colours have been used to double their appeal to all age groups,” explains Vas, who is an alumnus of Mysuru-based Chamarajendra Academy of Visual Arts (CAVA).

When the sale of eco-friendly products became difficult after the lockdown, Vas came up with the idea of toys as a source of livelihood for women in the village. “The human figures, animals like tiger, deer, elephant, giraffe, cow, dog and others have come alive in the hands of trained women from the village. We at Paper Seed have focused our energies on hand-made products to generate employment,” he says.

“Being an artist, I made a few toys initially and trained women. Now, there are around six women working on the toys in the unit. Thus each toy is unique and different. One cannot have a replica of any toy,” says Vas.

These toys can also be used to adorn the show case of the house as well. Paper Seed also makes eco-friendly jewellery, earrings, key chain, cups from coconut shells, driftwood artifacts, baskets from locally available creepers, pens, bamboo toothbrush, paper straw, recycled paper cards, pencils and organic agarbatti.

Rakhis with seeds

A biodegradable and eco-friendly paper prepared without destroying trees, can be used for various purposes like wedding cards, greeting cards, invitations or for promotions.

At Paper Seed, pencils are not made from wood, chemicals or plastic, but from used newspapers, he informs. During Raksha Bandhan, Paper Seed had launched rakhis with seeds of tomato, cucumber, capsicum, tulsi, among others, embedded in them.

Prior to the lockdown, Paper Seed had trained poor families in the village to make agarbattis from dry flowers. About 15 to 20 families were dependent on it and were earning their livelihood from selling such special incense sticks. But the lockdown had a huge impact on the sale of agarbattis, he adds. During Christmas, the Paper Seed had launched eco-friendly Christmas decorative items such as stars, large balls, Santa Claus and so on.

Alisha Lawrance, a customer from Seattle, says: “We gave away Paper Seed’s hearts with tomato, lettuce and capsicum seeds as our wedding giveaways. All our friends and family absolutely loved the idea...” Vas says.

And adds that he had been planning a ‘Paper Seed Village’ in order to transform the lives of the poor families. The poor families will be trained in different eco-friendly products and make them self-employed.

It will include a research and development centre, open air theatre, rainwater harvesting system, solar energy, workshops, museum, among others. “For now the plans have been put on hold,” he adds.