Prasanta Ku. Dash
Balasore, March 5:The Areca frond or betel-nut foliage is going to redefine the new age hospitality sector especially the ways of meeting, partying, hotelling and even home dining with serving food & dishes in healthy and organic plates.
A Balasore-based Women Producers Group (WPG) is yet working on refining the biodegradable plates and bowls innovated so far, that are widely used in meetings, parties and social functions, replacing the hazardous plastic and thermocol goods.
The Chakanayana Women Producers Group that hails from Bajitpur village under the Vograi Block limit in Odisha, has been addressing the environmental concerns by making organic plates & bowls from the Areca fronds to eliminating pollution and health hazards.
The ecofriendly Areca-made party dishes, plates and bowls with as many as 19 other easily decomposable organic products, manufactured at the SHG workshop, are now adding values to Odia homes and party functions across Odisha.
Growing from a hand-pressing unit, the women-run Chakanayan Producer Group has now flourished as a manufacturing hub for making green dishes, plates, bowls and serving trays for feasts, from the Areca leaves and fronds.
The Areca-based entrepreneur gained its ground, after such eco-friendly produces were showcased in the Palishree Mela, Adivasi Mela and other community festivities during different occasions.
The Subhadra Shakti Mela, a state-level expo of SHG goods, concluded recently in Bhubaneswar, saw the potential of the areca products, among thousands of salable goods showcased here.
The areca goods, exhibited in Stall No. 141 in the Subhadra Shakti Mela, were prominent attractions for the fairgoers. It’s because, the stall contained nothing more than some ordinary plates and bowls, but meticulously decorated throughout the stall. However, the products were quite unique for its colour, structure and ingredients. They were unlike disposable poly-plates, thermocol-trays or Sal-Siari leaves-based products, rather things made up of Areca fronds, that is from the typical betelnut tree.
The areca fronds are considered as a common bio-waste for the betelnut farmers while piles of it are disposed of by burning.
In view of proper utilization of the green-waste, the women entrepreneurs of the Chakanayana Producers Group in 2016, came up with an idea to make plates & trays from it, replacing the Sal & Siali leaves that affect the green-habitat partially. As many as 35 primary members of the group shared their contributions to a common fund, to fetch a manual plate-making machine. The new venture experienced a thumping success after the innovative products were exhibited in a first, at the Sisir Sarasa Mela, held in Bhubaneswar. With the outstanding sales records and growing demands for the biofriendly crockery items, the entrepreneurs switched over to automation.They installed an automatic and heavyduty machine for Rs 3.5 lakh loan to expand the business. It was funded by the government of Odisha under the TRIPTI (Targeted Rural Initiatives for Poverty Termination and Infrastructure) Project. The automation and expansion project of the areca manufacturing unit later promoted the women’s creative business across Odisha.
Accrediting the women’s successful ventures the ORMAS, rendered Rs 2.4 lakh assistance to the women producers’ group during the Corona pandemic in 2021, to compensate the loss incurred during the lockdown periods. The funds were duly utilized for the crisis management caused by sheer stagnancy of the production unit that came up with magical outcomes.
Now the Chakanayana, is a unique manufacturing hub to produce thousands of areca products with as many as five machines installed at a well-to-do workshop. Each machine at least produces 3000 pieces of dishes, trays and bowl, on dias on a daily basis. The produces are massively ported to trading points, across the state and the nation, on demand.
Underlining the potential of the recyclable areca-plate business, entrepreneur Kanakaprabha Mishra said, the small business has made self-reliant to as many as 35 housewives who contribute their leisurly time with the unit and get fabulous return.
The mere unit which was initiated with a working capital of Rs 5000, has now escalated to a multi-lakh project providing indirect employment to scores of women, Mishra added.
Priyanka Das, a customer who visited the fair to collect some areca-crafted serving trays for her office, from the stall was stunned to see the fine-furnished products, the best out of the waste from the betel-plants.
Das said, “It’s indeed incredible that a rough and woody wrap of areca palm can be transformed into so superb polished plates and trays”,
