Meet Brothers Converting Newspapers Into pencils & Donating Them
Two Kenyan brothers, Rashid and Mahamud Omari, were profiled by the American news source Tech Insider for their eco-friendly idea of transforming discarded newspapers into pencils.
The two co-founded Momo Pencils, a company that transforms newspaper scraps into a wood-like material before adding graphite to produce pencils.
The concept was conceived with the objective of alleviating the strain placed on natural resources for manufacturing around the globe, as stated by Mahamud.
He told Tech Insider, “We decided to use the pencil to raise awareness about climate change.”
The transformation of the raw material consists of nine phases. Momo pencils obtain their raw materials, newspapers, from Nairobi households and businesses.
The disassembly of newspapers into sheets yields up to three pencils per double page.
A graphite rid adheres to a single sheet of paper with wood glue, and successive layers adhere to the first sheet.
“The glue is essential in harnessing the strength of the paper, and the process requires a lot of training to do. If a lot of paste is used, then it takes longer for the final mold to stick together,” Radhid explained.
The overlapping paper layers are then placed in a machine that rolls them into a cylindrical form. The pencils are then exposed to the sun for seven days to dry.
The surface of the pencils is then sanded by hand by company employees. The pencils are then imprinted with designs that can be tailored to the client’s demands.
The final product is then laminated using a machine. The personnel then sharpen the pencils before distributing the packaging.
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The company produces 100,000 pencils each and every day. However, Rahid and Mahamud acknowledged encountering other obstacles, such as high production costs.
For example, they pay their employees over Ksh2,000 daily, which is nearly three times the normal wage. Additionally, the exorbitant prices make it harder for them to attract customers.
The producers claimed, “Our target clientele are individuals who share our environmental conservation concept and appreciate eco-friendly Kenyan production.”
Annually, Momo Pencils distributes 3,000 pencils to Kenyan children and plants a tree for each donation. Rashid and Mahamud see the pencil as a potent instrument of empowerment for the Kenyan populace.
