Julie Bajracharya of the Sano Pat Pasal of Ason is one of the wholesalers of sal leaf plates and says that although the machine-made duna and taparis started appearing in the Nepali market about twenty years ago, it is only been five years since their popularity really took off.
“The biggest buyers are momo shops, who use taparis as disposable plates to serve the delicacy. Many samosa shops, and pani puri vendors have also been using taparis for the last few years,” says Julie who claims she does a business of Rs 50,000 a month just selling the leaf bowls.
Traditionally the handmade duna and taparis were used specially during festivals and were an integral part of many religious rituals. Now even these are being replaced by the factory-made ones.
The process of making a tapari though requires skill and more importantly time, a rare commodity these days. Julie feels that these might be the reason why the factory-made duna and taparis have replaced the handmade ones to a larger degree.
Badrimaya Malla, another wholesaler of leaf plates at Ason, says that many of her customers buy the small leaf bowls for religious rituals. The large-size plates that cost Rs 1.20 each are bought, especially for Newari weddings and feasts. Little ones of various sizes cost anywhere between 30-45 rupees per 100 pieces.
“These are a must during a Newari feast,” says Badrimaya Malla, holding a bundle of large-size machine-made taparis.
Sanjaya Giri of Indradev Duna Tapari Udyog, Agliya, Nawalparasi claims that his factory is the largest leaf plate manufacturer in the country. Opened eight years ago, Sanjay’s factory at Algliya produces bowls and plates of 11 various sizes. His per month turnover is Rs 600,000.
Employing 35 people in his factory and collecting leaves from 350 villagers, Sanjay’s model is now being emulated by many entrepreneurs in Agliya, Gaidakot and Janakpur. Sanjay himself was inspired to make leaf plates when he was on a visit to Birgunj.
“I visited a factory of Kul Bahadur Tamang when I was in Birgunj about eight years ago. Then I went to Patna to order the machines that punch the shapes on the leaves,” says Sanjay.
Since there was no shortage of leaves in his village, he started experimenting with different shapes and sizes of bowls and plates.
“For three years the market didn’t really respond to our product, but after that we didn’t have to look back,” says Sanjay.
At present, Sanjay’s factory has 22 machines punching away all day. Although the leaves are punched into shapes by machines, the wooden pins need to be placed by hand to attach the leaves together.
Apart from being cheap, the multipurpose leaf plates are easy to dispose of and environment-friendly. Slowly replacing the plastic-laminated paper plates during picnics, the medium and large-size leaf plates have made their place in the disposable utensils market. But Sanjay feels that people with higher spending capacity still prefer plastic plates.
“I don’t know if it’s because the leaf plates are too inexpensive but the well-to-do still haven’t gotten over their love affair with plastic,” he ponders.
(All photos by Bikash Karki.)
kushal@myrepublica.com
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