Koehler Recycling Papers used for ‘Gorillas our Friends Forever’ conservation campaign

Paper Solutions

Mountain gorillas are among the rarest life forms on our planet. According to current estimates, there are only thought to be around 1000 of them remaining worldwide. The last mountain gorillas live in the Virunga Mountains in the border area between the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda. The ‘Gorillas our Friends Forever’ campaign, an initiative launched by the Mondberge publishing house, aims to save them. The partners to the project are the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, the Ugandan NGO Conservation Through Public Health and the German organisation Berggorilla & Regenwald Direkthilfe (Mountain Gorilla and Rainforest Direct Aid). Renowned author and actor Hannes Jaenicke is the campaign’s ambassador.

A cultural historical tin figure of Ruhondeza and his family of mountain gorillas, which comes in a stylish eco box, has been created to boost the conservation effort. The engraved tin figure groups have been painted by dozens of miniatures’ painters from all over the world. Koehler provided its high quality recycled papers for the box.

The eco box is a prime example of how traditional craftsmanship and sustainability can be combined. Creative board diamond 120 and 270 g/m2, Koehler Eco Dark Grey 120 g/m2, and creative board platinum 350 g/m2 were used to make the box. The booklet was printed on creative print diamond 90 g/m2 and 210 g/m2. Creative print diamond 350 g/m2 was used for the postcard.

The papers, made from 100% secondary fibre, not only boast the Blue Angel and EU ecolabels, they also stand out thanks to their rich colours.

‘We are very proud to have contributed to the success of the ‘Gorillas our Friends Forever’ conservation campaign,’ said Udo Hollbach, managing director at Koehler Paper's Greiz site.

Ruhondeza was the first mountain gorilla in Uganda to allow tourists to visit his group. Over the course of his 50 years on Earth, the silverback had close contact with more than 50,000 people, according to estimates. The campaign was launched to mark the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the death of the legendary silverback from the Bwindi National Park in Uganda and aims to raise awareness of mountain gorilla conservation and to support specific projects in the region of the Bwindi rainforest. In order to safeguard the last mountain gorillas, we also need to preserve their habitat and involve and support the local population.

For further information on the campaign, please see www.gorillafriends.org