What good is poop?

Last Updated (Monday, 30 May 2011 10:24) Written by Raymond Nakamura

I came across this article about how llama poop was vital to the Inca developing agriculture at high altitudes. Climbing the Inca trail in Peru was one of the most wonderful and most painful experiences of my life. I remember being at Machu Picchu and noticing a lot of llama poop, but I hadn't realized that it was key to their civilization. They're kind of like little chocolate Easter eggs. Anyway, it got me thinking about other ways we use animal poop, besides as fertilizer. Waste not, want not, as they say.

Building Material

Using cow dung to make bricks may help reduce environmental impacts. Perhaps one day I'll write bildungsroman about it.

Fuel

You can burn camel dung for fuel, with no drying necessary. Here's a more elaborate process for turning cow dung into fuel, with other potential applications.

Explosive

This post describes different ways Yemenis used cow dung, including throwing rocks on burning cow dung to make it explode for fun. Who needs video games? Seabird colonies in dry places like the west coast of South America produce huge amounts of bird guano. It is high in nitrogen and can be used for fertilizer and to make explosives. Large bat colonies can produce bat guano for similar purposes.

Paper

Paper is made from plant fibres. Herbivores eat plants, but often don't digest much of what they eat. Elephants make a lot of poop which can be turned into a lot of paper.

Incense

Apparently moose poop smells like willow if you burn it like incense. Their slogan is not quite family friendly, but I felt strangely compelled to include it.

Coffee

The palm civet is a cat-like mammal (Viverrid) in Southeast asia. It likes to eat the ripest and reddest coffee cherries and poops out the beans. Enterprising Indonesians turn it into Kopi Luwak, the most expensive coffee in the world, which you may have seen Jack Nicholson drinking in The Bucket List.

Birth Control

The ancient Egyptians used crocodile dung as a form of contraception. I haven't found any studies regarding its efficacy, but I could imagine it be a significant deterrent.

When I brought this topic up at dinner the other day, a cousin mentioned that moose poop with googly eyes makes for an excellent craft. If you have any other interesting uses for droppings, please drop us a line (keep it clean, please). Perhaps we can start a bowel movement.