Dr. Karl Wald went over to Sri Lanka 12 years ago. His job as a scientist was to shadow an elephant veterinarian, do trunk washes and test domestic elephants for tuberculosis. During that time, he learned about the raging human/elephant conflict in Sri Lanka and became friends with a fellow animal activist, and paper maker Thusitha Ranasinghe. Together, they began Mr. Ellie Pooh. Since that time Karl and his family developed other sustainable programs that make pretty awesome gifts. First is a fabric line where we design dolls and educational playhouses. The 100% cotton fabric is hand-loomed and the dyes are all AZO free. Our second line of kids’ toys goes “old school”; handmade wooden toys and puzzles that are made with sustainable rubber plantation wood. All paints are lead and toxic free. Finally, our last program supports a small family operation in Kenya. They do all of our soapstone figurines. Each raw piece of stone is hand carved, dyed and then decorated. Beautiful works of art.
