Ditching Plastic Plates Himachal Communities Revive Age-Old Pattals

Have you ever considered trading your shiny, nice crockery set for a plate made of leaves? Although it may sound outlandish, India has a centuries-old tradition of eating meals off of leaves. Certain trees such as banana, banyan, jackfruit, and sal produce leaves that are ideal for use as plates.

These leaves have been utilized as plates for many years, and there are not only cultural but also scientific justifications for their use. Plates made from leaves remain the top choice for special events such as festivals and weddings.

In Himachal Pradesh, the age-old tradition of using pattals and donas made from leaves to serve food during social gatherings had been fading away with the rise of plastic and paper plates. However, thanks to the Pattal Project initiated by Lalit Jain, an IAS officer, the use of these eco-friendly serving options has made a comeback, providing rural women with job opportunities.

For over 50 years, many families in the hill state relied solely on pattals for their daily meals. But with the increasing availability of disposable plates and mugs made of plastic and paper, this sustainable tradition started to disappear. Fortunately, the Pattal Project has revived this practice, creating a sustainable and empowering source of income for many women's self-help organizations in the district and throughout the state.

The improved model of pattals is not only good for the environment, but it also promotes gender equality and provides economic benefits to local communities.

Leaf-plate making is a traditional business for over 100 families in Mandi district, who depend on the sale of these plates for their livelihood.

Eco-friendly alternatives

Polluting single-use plastic production rose by 6 million tonnes per year from 2019 to 2021 despite tougher worldwide regulations, with producers making "little progress" to tackle the problem and boost recycling.

Single-use plastics have emerged as one of the world's most pressing environmental threats, with vast amounts of waste buried in landfills or dumped untreated in rivers and oceans. The manufacturing process is also a major source of climate-warming greenhouse gas.

In India, serving food on leaf dining plates is a long-standing tradition with its own cultural, religious, medicinal, and socioeconomic significance. The leaf plate stitching is a livelihood activity for tribal people in Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana states of India.

The leaves and leaf plates are used for offering naivedyam to god during worship and distribution of prasadam to devotees. They are extensively used for serving food during marriages, religious festivals, community feasts, etc. The leaves from a vast variety of plants are used as dining plates, food wraps during steam cooking, grilling and frying of various dishes, and food packing material in India.

The making of leaf plates is an arduous work, which requires collection of leaves from the forest and pinning it down with a thin, sharp wood at home to give it the shape of a plate. As per the market demand, they make two types of plates (small and big) to serve food and sweet dishes separately.

Reviving livelihoods

The main motivation behind starting the project at Himachal Pradesh with a self-help women group was to create employment for the rural women. As of now, one pattal and dona are sold for Rs 5, and this improvised machine is handed to these groups through various government initiatives as it costs approximately Rs 75,000 and each group generates a profit of Rs 2.50 lakh each month.

Families that used to earn around ₹3,500 monthly by selling the plates, are now working in the group and using machines to make plates and bowls. Their income has more than doubled, though it keeps varying depending on the demand.