When A Pen Becomes A Tree

To lessen environmental damage, social entrepreneur Lakshmi Menon has invented a paper pen which has a seed at one end. Instead of discarding the pen after use, if you plant it, it becomes a tree

By Shevlin Sebastian

At a studio in Mumbai, social entrepreneur Lakshmi Menon presented actor Amitabh Bachchan with a pen. He stared curiously at it. Then he looked up and said, “What is it? Lakshmi replied, “Sir, this is a paper pen. And they are environment-friendly. At one end, there is a seed. After you finish using the pen, it can be placed in a pot or on the ground. And it will grow to be a tree.” 

Amitabh nodded and said, “What a great idea, especially for India where we have an alarming plastic problem. I will publicise it.”

Lakshmi felt gratified and elated. 

A little over two years ago, in a blaze of publicity, Mollywood superstar Mammootty had planted a seed. “Now it has become a 16-foot high tree,” says Lakshmi 

Interestingly, she prefers to put the seed of the hummingbird tree in the pens, because it has a lot of medicinal benefits. The leaves and flowers are very good for thyroid treatment. It can also be put into curries and salads. “It is the main ingredient for many Ayurveda medicines,” says Lakshmi. “The tender portions can be used as cattle fodder, while the white bark can be made into corks.” 

The pen, priced at Rs 12, is hand-made by more than a dozen women at Lakshmi's home at Kanjiramattom (25 kms from Kochi). They make around 2500 pens every day. “It is being sent all over India,” says the 44-year-old. “And to foreign countries like the United Arab Emirates, Sweden, and Malaysia.” 

Lakshmi's regular customers include Wipro, National Thermal Power Corporation and the Tatas. “We are their CSR partners,” she says. “They have bought a few lakh pens in the last couple of years. The companies feel the pens give off a feel-good factor because it is about women empowerment, and saving the environment.”

Says Nithin Choudhari, Senior Executive-Operations, of the Tata Business Excellence Group, “This is a very good product. Since the 'seed pen' is always in demand, we are maintaining significant quantities in stock.”

Last year, a pharmaceutical company bought one lakh pens, which they distributed to 5000 doctors, at 200 pens each, as complimentary gifts.

The idea of inventing this pen came to Lakshmi when she came across a disturbing statistic. “There are 45 lakh school students in Kerala,” says Lakshmi. “If they are discarding two pens every month, one crore pens end up in the ground. These pens, especially those of Chinese mark, cannot be recycled.” 

Another reason for her environmental consciousness was her decade-long stay in the USA, till 2008 where she worked as a designer at an art gallery in San Francisco and stayed in the celebrity enclave (Sean Penn/Sylvester Stallone/Carlos Santana) of Marin County.

“I was amazed at how caring of the environment the people were,” she says. “Even a small stream, they would try to beautify it by growing flowers along the banks. And then I would think how Kerala has so much natural beauty. We also have 44 rivers and we were just ruining it. I felt I had to do something.” 

Back in Kerala, Lakshmi has pushed hard for students to use ink pens. And thanks to her efforts, the Kerala State government has adopted a Green Protocol for schools. 

According to the protocol, schools cannot use disposable water bottles, paper, styrofoam, plastic cups, plates, and food packaging including aluminium and plastic bags. 

“Many schools have been slow about adopting the protocol because all-around awareness has not happened,” she says.

To enable that, Lakshmi approached the organisers of the Kochi Muziris Biennale and asked them whether they could make a sculpture comprising discarded plastic pens. Founders Bose Krishnamachari and Riyas Komu agreed. 

“I needed 10,000 pens, but did not know how to get it,” says Lakshmi. “So I went and met Finance Minister Thomas Isaac. I asked him to put up a Facebook post asking for discarded pens which the people could send it to the Biennale office in Fort Kochi.”

The response was stupendous. In one month the office received seven-and-a half-lakh pens. In January, this year, 40 cyclists from Kozhikode brought along bags which contained one lakh pens. “The sculpture will be put up soon,” says Lakshmi.

Meanwhile, every now and then Lakshmi gets a request that gladdens her heart. “There is a family in Coimbatore who wanted to present my pens to relatives who were coming to take their daughter-in-law back home during the seventh month of her pregnancy,” she says. “So they bought 700 pens.” 

Another family had designed a wedding card like a tree. And they made a slot to put the paper pen, with the dialogue, 'Let love grow like a seed'.

“One son had the name of Agastya,” says Laksmi. “So they wanted to place the agastya (hummingbird) seed in his birthday card.”

Says Lakshmi, “Life is good.” 

(A shorter version was published in Sunday Magazine, The New Indian Express, South India and Delhi)