Elephants Wear Ivory: fusion of technology and art to protect heritage

Feisal Malik has always loved nature, and in 2014, through his film company, he began making a documentary on elephant poaching. The film – Last in Line – investigated the illegal ivory trade

During the project, Feisal filmed a poisoned elephant dying; It was a slow and painful death that lasted more than four hours

. This moving experience led him to plan a picture book on a coffee table, accompanied by a documentary on a DVD, to celebrate elephants and discourage poaching
. Feisal's friend, Tanvir Ali, approached to do a project together. They discussed the book and decided to replace the DVD with a branded flash drive; In 1965, Feisal went to India to supervise a photography contest, where he talked about the upcoming book and conservation. In the crowd, a stranger, who would eventually help improve the book, was intrigued.

When Feisal finished his presentation, the man approached him with a partnership proposal. This man was Puneet Chadha, HP's regional marketing manager for Asia Pacific in Japan

When Feisal returned to Nairobi, Puneet suggested using augmented reality – embedded videos in the book – instead of a flash disk.

Feisal and Tanvir were excited and turned over to shoot more videos "

The two men, who studied business and finance, saw their photographic hobby and their love for conservation animate [19659006] And so, Elephants Wear Ivory
This is not any book – it's a documentary that fuses art, conservation and technology from the world. a beautiful way.

The 108-page book weighing 2 kg was printed in less than five minutes using HP Indigo Printer in India. It has a hard cover and augmented reality – where you can watch videos that are in the book by simply swiping the video sections using the iSmartPhoto application that you download to your phone.

For Feisal and Tanvir, it's not about sales or fame, but about protecting our heritage.

"Elephants are poorly understood, mainly because they are considered destructive, yet they are a key species," says Tanvir. "You know, they help reforestation, when elephants eat plants and fruits, their digestive system does not digest seeds, and they can walk far, even 50km, and when they defecate, the seeds germinate and it helps to spread various plants. "

And the jumbos are saviors, adds Tanvir with animation.

"When it is really dry, they hunt water … And when they dig water for themselves, other animals around them have also access to water. "
Killing elephants would damage the ecosystem and affect humans, and it would take five to seven years for a new, prosperous generation.

African elephant is 22 months old and usually gives birth to only one calf at a time, so the mother takes two to five years to wean herself and take care of her. When Tanvir and Feisal talk, you feel angry at poachers and start to understand why they published the book and why

And they will sell more, the more they will give to protect the elephants, they promise.

Both support Jim Nyamu's conservation efforts and donate their profits to his organization. Jim conducts Elephant Neighbors Center, which works to protect elephants.

Through Jim, Irish Ambbadador Vincent O'Neill and the Embbady bought 25 books, which he distributes to Kenya's primary schools to promote conservation .

Each year, the Embbady chooses which animal "green" (covers an animal in green to symbolize that it will be the focal point of conservation, and to celebrate the presence of Ireland) during St. Patrick's Day, celebrated on March 17 each year

In 2018, he "greened" the elephant. Green is the national color of Ireland and St. Patrick is the patron saint.

Ambbadador O'Neill says Ireland is an advocate for conservation around the world

"Our future is closely linked to our sustainability and our biodiversity. "During the greening campaign of the embbady, ​​the ambbadador was introduced to Jim Nyamu, who spoke to him in turn about Elephants Wear Ivory and how Feisal and Tanvir support conservation.

Feisal and Tanvir enjoyed their safaris and were enthusiastic about carrying out a project from which they both benefited. They say that working on the book has opened doors for them, and they encourage young people, especially creative ones, to consider many ways to make a living while enjoying their jobs.

"The opportunities are there; take them. If you have a pbadion for something, do it. Partnerships and team work are gold mines, "says Feisal.

Feisal and Tanvir personally sell their books at a discounted rate of 6500 shillings and are packaged in an eco-friendly bag made by a Kawangware youth self-help group. , Nairobi

They also set up book sales in the United Kingdom.

In Kenya you can order the book on their Facebook page "Elephants Wear Ivory"