Playing Cards for Wildlife Conservation

“Education works particularly well through games,” says Stefanie Eifler. When the visual communications student talks about her project, you can hear that she has clearly put her heart and soul into it. And it all began during a very relaxing moment.

It Started with an Experience on the Beach in Indonesia

The native of Baden, Germany, spent six weeks in 2017 on a trip that took her to Indonesia, among other places. “While there, I spent a few days at the NGO Green-Books.org in Bali, which focuses on environmental education for children,” says Ms. Eifler. After this visit and many inspiring conversations, she continued her travels, visiting the island of Lombok: “I was playing cards on the beach with a friend when two girls came by to sell bracelets they had made themselves,” she remembers. The girls were so fascinated by the cards that they forgot their jewelry and got completely wrapped up in the game.

This experience on the beach gave birth to the idea of working with Green-Books.org to develop a card game that would playfully introduce children to Indonesia’s biodiversity and its threats.

Koehler and Siegwerk Donate Material

The game was designed by Ms. Eifler, who is pursuing a degree at Bauhaus University in Weimar, Germany, with assistance from a biologist from the NGO. It took several months to develop the game, which was a project Ms. Eifler completed in her free time. “I am passionate about environmental protection, education, and social justice,” she says, and explains how she received unexpected support.

“I couldn’t have covered the material costs for the ink and paper alone,” she says. And she didn’t have to. The company Siegwerk provided her with the ink to print the cards, and the Casino Classic cardboard for playing cards came from Koehler in Oberkirch, Germany. “The university contacted Koehler and put us in touch with the company,” she says. “It was really easy, and they were very friendly!”

Cardboard for Playing Cards Usually at Home in the Casinos of the World

Tanja Soltau, product manager for fine papers at Koehler, is also impressed with the results of the collaboration. “We are very happy to support projects that have a direct and positive impact on people’s lives,” she says. Normally the cardboard for playing cards is used in the world’s largest casinos, and schools in Indonesia are a welcome Change.

Green-Books.org distributes the card games that, with 32 cards, are similar to a deck of cards for the popular card game Skat. They have four blocks of eight cards each describing local animals, their food, habitats, and threats in English and Indonesian. There are also posters in the two languages that provide further information about the illustrations.

For Stefanie Eifler, this project is just the beginning of her journey into the world of playing cards. She is currently working on her master’s thesis, the result of which will also be a game – this time on the subject of stereotypes. “The funny thing is,” she says, smiling, “I’m a really sore loser.”