Gaukriti is the only brand in India that manufactures and sells paper and stationery products that are entirely made of cow dung, urine and cotton waste, proudly claims the brand’s founder, Bheem Raj Sharma.
The primary uses of cow dung is either in organic farming or burning of cow-cakes for fuel, however Bheem Raj Sharma thought otherwise and intended to add something more to the list. With the motive to do something for Gomata (Cow), he started his brand Gaukriti in 2016.
“It was very necessary for us to look after proper medication, health and proper care of cows. So, instead of extracting only milk from them we planned to use cow dung and cow urine in the most eco-friendly and sustainable way possible to create unique products,” he says. That’s when he thought of paper.
This was not surprising as Bheem owns a printing press and has been working in this field for the last 20 years. In 1993, he also completed a diploma in Applied Arts, often known as Commercial Art. So he combined his mission of serving cows with a unique sustainable product and decided to make paper from cow dung!
“Once we heard that there are other alternative materials from which papers are being made, we thought, why can’t we make paper out of cow dung?” he asks.
Since the paper was insufficient to boost the business’ growth in the first two years, Gaukriti did not attract any consistent customers. With the intention of conceptualising and expanding the business, he then decided to expand the product line to make a variety of items from cow dung. Today, the brand is proud that by recycling cow dung, it has manufactured around 100 distinctive items with a wide range of uses. It caters to every age group, from children to seniors.
