As the focus is likely to shift to alternative products from single-use plastic that India plans to ban, millions of people, especially tribals residing in Odisha’s forest-rich regions, expect an upturn in their income.
Close to five million people in Odisha are currently involved in plate-making using both hand and machine stitching methods. They depend on two major leaves of forest species – sal and siali – for their earnings.
“Odisha’s leaf plate and cup market is worth ₹1,500 crore. While 2.5 million people mostly tribals are sal leaf pluckers, 1.5 million are siali leaf pluckers. Around one million are connected with other leaves,” said Chittaranjan Pani, a leading expert on non-timber forest product trade.
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As soon as plastic products are banned, the focus will shift to degradable materials and leaf plates and cups are one of the obvious choices. In 22 of the 30 districts of Odisha, inhabitants of forest-fringe villages are traditionally involved in leaf-plate making.
In some districts, tribal women have already formed federations to get a better deal in the trade.