Sal and Siali Leaf Plate Making in Jharkhand and Odisha

Leaf plate making from Sal (Shorea robusta) and Siali (Bauhinia vahlii) leaves is a traditional forest-based livelihood for Adivasi communities in Jharkhand and Odisha. Women and men of Oraon, Munda, and Ho communities collect fallen leaves from community forest lands, stitch them using thin sal twigs called seul as needles and kher grass as thread, and form the plates on clay moulds. The unprocessed leaf plates are sold in weekly haats (markets) and used by temples, roadside food vendors, and wedding caterers as biodegradable single-use plates and cups (dona and pattal). A woman can make 300 to 500 leaf plates per day. The NTFP (Non-Timber Forest Produce) Policy in Jharkhand allows free collection of fallen leaves. Van Dhan Vikas Kendras under TRIFED have set up plate-stitching cooperatives and heat-pressing machines to produce value-added pressed leaf plates for the export market, replacing plastic single-use tableware.