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Excrement and other lovely things

The Many Uses For Dung That You May Have Never Considered

And some you may now wish to adopt (or maybe not)

Sally Prag

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A yak. Photo by Sergio Capuzzimati on Unsplash

A few days ago, I read a story by Scot Butwell in which he shared how he and his son learned some fascinating facts while visiting a zoo and seeing yaks for the first time.

In case you don’t know too much about yaks, they are related to the cow family but are a special design — for high-altitude living. You will find them high in the Himalayas in Tibet and in the Solukhumbu region of Nepal. Probably in parts of the Indian Himalayas too, although I am not sure of that one.

Yaks are very useful creatures in these high mountainous regions. Since there are no roads, the inhabitants have to walk long distances to the nearest market town and will bring a yak along to carry their purchases home. They also enjoy yak milk, yak butter, and yak cheese.

But the interesting fact that Scot shared with us was that the Tibetans use their dung to burn in their stoves and heat their homes. This little fact took me back to my travels in India where dung is an extremely valuable fuel, as well as serving a host of other purposes.

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Sally Prag
Sally Prag

Written by Sally Prag

I write creative nonfiction essays and poetry. Rethinking life through my words. Sometimes too seriously, sometimes not seriously enough.

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