Duna tapari, bowls and plates made from leaves of sal (Shorea robusta). Photo by Wikimedia Commons user Janak Bhatta. CC BY-SA 4.0.
While paper, plastic and styrofoam plates have replaced the traditional leaf plates in most community feasts throughout Nepal, in the country’s rural areas, people still use leaf plates made from bauhinia (a creeper plant) and banana leaves, not to mention the duna, a bowl, and tapari, a plate made from sal (Shorea robusta) leaves and areca palm leaves.
“Nepalese use the fresh leaf plates and bowls for many occasions, including religious rituals, children’s rice feeding ceremonies, many festival feasts, and marriage ceremonies,” writes Nepali food blogger Jyoti Pathak. “The dry sal leaf plates are mostly used for picnics, restaurant use, village parties, and at the street food stalls as disposable plates.”
With the rising demand for sustainable sal plates and bowls, many small enterprises have sprouted, some supported by non-governmental organisations.
Binod Baral is a UK-based Chef and Research and Development specialist at Tapari Global Private Limited (established 2017), which commercially produces tapari in Nepal, employing women from more than 1,000 families. He explained the importance of the sal leaf and sustainable manufacturing processes.
“The production of sal leaf plates involves minimal processing and energy use, resulting in a significantly lower carbon footprint compared to plastic or paper plate manufacturing,” writes Baral. “Sal leaf plates are chemical-free and don’t leach harmful substances into food, unlike some plastic and foam alternatives. This makes them a healthier choice for serving food, particularly in eco-conscious regions like Europe and America.”
A group of 21 women of the Milijuli Tilakanya Dunatapri Udhyami Firm in Dangisharan Rural Municipality in western Nepal, supported by the Forest and Farm Facility of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, produce duna and tapari in an electricity-operated machine manufactured by the National Innovation Centre.
Likewise, a bio-bowl and plate enterprise, supported by the non-profit People, Energy and Environment Development Association (PEEDA), collects sal leaves as raw materials to produce biodegradable bowls and plates as an eco-friendly alternative to plastic products from the Dhulekhar Community Forest in Pyuthan District of western Nepal.
A snapshot of bio bowl and plate enterprise supported by PEEDA. Used with permission.
According to PEEDA, an enterprise managed by 22 women, more than half of whom are Indigenous, combines indigenous practices with improved technology and market-oriented production, transforming traditional skills into a sustainable green enterprise.
The community forest, covering an area of 488.68 hectares and managed by 339 households, has the potential to annually supply more than 25,000 kilos of sal leaves, which can produce approximately 5.2 million bio-bowls and 1.5 million bio-plates each year.
This is just one of many such community forests, and the women’s group is one of the many groups involved in producing biodegradable bowls and plates. The potential is immense.
Community forests in Nepal, national forests handed over to local user groups for protection, management and utilization according to the Forest Act (1993) have played a vital role in forest conservation and sustainable resource management.
Simplifying the handover process and recognising community forest user groups as self-governed, autonomous corporate bodies to manage and use community forest according to a community forest operational plan has led to the broader participation of local communities in forest protection and management.
According to Nepal’s Ministry of Forests and Environment’s 2020 estimates, nearly 2.58 million hectares of forestland in Nepal have been handed over as community forests. However, the community forests of Nepal have not been able to increase forest productivity, generate income, and create jobs as expected, as some researchers point out.
Despite Nepal’s relatively low contribution to global carbon emissions, the communities are increasingly being adversely affected by climate change, including annual forest fires and the drying up of natural water sources. These challenges have intensified the climate vulnerability of local communities, particularly women.
In this regard, forest-based initiatives like duna tapari-making enterprises, involving local communities, might offer answers to these interconnected social and environmental challenges.
The women from community forest groups, involved in these enterprises, have turned their vulnerability into a means for earning sustainable livelihoods, contributing simultaneously to environmental conservation, climate resilience, and local economic development — one leaf at a time.
