Meet The Tamil Nadu Man Who Sells Biodegradable Paper Pens

In the Ayyampalayam district of Tamil Nadu’s Dindigul district, where most people work in agriculture, a young man named Ilayayar Sivabalan is trying to make a living selling biodegradable paper pens. Sivabalam completed his mechanical engineering from a college in the area. After obtaining his degree, he did not want to work in private companies and was interested in starting his own business, however, the poor economic condition of his family prevented him from obtaining any capital.

Therefore, consider working as a service engineer in a private company and doing something else during the holidays and in between work. Sivabalam, who was searching on the Internet for businesses that can be done on a small scale, got information about pens that are made in a way that protects the environment, with the exception of plastic products.

Plastic as we know is harmful to the environment and most of the pens we use are made of plastic. Most pens are thrown away casually after they have outlived their use and this is very harmful to nature.

Wanting to remedy the grave situation, Sivabalam decided to make paper pens. He took out a loan with the help of the Industrial Area Center and started the business of making paper pens using biodegradable paper and seeds from different trees.

95 percent of the paper pens he makes are made from biodegradable materials. He sells them for 4-5 rupees per pen. Sivapalam also visits the schools around his home and sells these pens, while showing his customers how to use the biodegradable products. Only the inner rim of the pen and the outer seed cap are made of plastic, the rest is completely biodegradable.

He said that although the return from this is not high, it is sufficient to recycle the capital needed to produce pens. He added that although he also works in a private company, his heart is in this business, as he got the chance to do something for the community.