सिंहदरबार संवाददाता
Jhapa. Plates, bowls and other items made from betel leaves that are being wasted in farmers’ fields have started being sold to the European market.
Half a dozen industries have been established in Jhapa to make betel leaf items due to increased demand in the market. Among them, Leaf Plus Pvt. Ltd., operating in Mechinagar-13, has stated that plates, bowls, spoons, dunas, palas and other items made from betel leaves are being exported to Germany, Finland and the US.
Managing Director of the Pvt. Ltd. Kovid Singh Baniya said that items made from betel leaves have become popular in domestic supermarkets as well as foreign party palaces and restaurants as they are environmentally friendly and chemical-free.
Stating that 16 million rupees worth of betel leaf plates and other goods were sold in the fiscal year 2080/81, he said that 60 percent, or 10 million rupees worth of goods, were exported to Europe and America.
In 2074 BS, a group of young entrepreneurs who wanted to move forward with a new idea in Jhapa, which is considered the capital of betel leaves, established an industry called ‘Leaf Plus Pvt. Ltd.’ in Mechinagar-9 to produce household goods from betel leaves.
The industry, which was established with a joint investment of 15 million rupees by Kovid Singh Baniya of Makawanpur, Swabhiman Acharya of Dang, and Hari Dahal of Jhapa, has so far invested 40 million rupees.
The industry has been shifted from Mechinagar-9 to 13 after a major fire damaged it two years ago. Baniya said that a new machine was brought from India after the old machine became unusable due to the fire.
‘We planned to produce it commercially, thinking that duna tapari can be made from betel leaves, just like sal leaves,’ said Baniya, one of the founders of the industry. ‘Initially, it took some time to introduce it to the local market. Later, we have been successful in promoting it abroad and reaching the markets of Europe and America.’
He says that betel nut plates, bowls and other items made in Nepal have quickly become popular in the foreign market due to their features such as being microwaveable, refrigerator-safe, environmentally friendly, non-leaking and naturally biodegradable.
Betel nut leaves grow by curling up on the tops of the betel nut tree. Farmers grow other crops on the ground where betel nut is grown. In the past, farmers used to remove large leaves from the fields by using a rake to prevent them from falling on the fields and damaging the crops.
But now, farmers have started earning additional income by selling the leaves that have fallen from the tree themselves. One leaf is sold at the rate of Rs. There are 3.5 million betel nut trees in an area of more than 2,600 hectares in Jhapa. Five to eight leaves fall from a single tree every year.
From this calculation, more than 25 million leaves are wasted every year. Industries use the same leaves that are about to be wasted to produce goods. This has created a situation where betel nut farmers get the value of the leaves in addition to the fruit.
Goods made from betel nut leaves are used in religious ceremonies, weddings, fasting, and public functions held in monasteries and temples within the country.
The industry operator Baniya says that these materials are being used in big hotels and restaurants in the capital including Bhatbhateni, Salesberry, Hotel Soalti.
The industry has stated that betel leaves are being collected from Bahundangi, Shantinagar and Budhabare in Jhapa. The industry buys products produced by other industries in those areas. Leaf Plus Pvt. Ltd. has directly employed 19 people.
Most of the workers employed in machine operation and leaf collection are women. The seven machines installed in the industry have been producing 12,000 plates, bowls and other items daily.
An industry named Energy Crops in Arjundhara Municipality-2 has also been producing duna tapari and other goods from betel leaves. Operator Deepak Dhungana said that there is a joint investment of 10 people in the industry, which was established at a cost of Rs 10 million.
The operators themselves go to the farmers’ gardens to find betel leaves and work on selling the produced goods themselves. The dried betel leaves are easily collected and used as raw materials for the industry.
Initially, the leaves are cleaned and washed in clean water. After washing, they are dried in the sun to remove moisture. Only then are they placed in a compressor machine and shaped into duna tapari.
Mentioning that plates and bowls made of betel leaves can be used as an alternative to plastic plates and bowls, industrialist Dhungana said that up to five plates can be made from one large betel leaf.
Rajendra Mishra of Mechinagar-4, Bahundangi, says that the income from betel nut farming is ten times higher than that from rice farming. He, who cultivates betel nut in two and a half bighas, said that he is earning more than Rs. 400,000 annually from betel nut fruits.
The seeds of the betel nut plant start to bear fruit six years after planting. But even before the fruit ripens, the plant starts to provide income through its leaves. Mustard, fenugreek, alas, betel, pepper, lemon, lemongrass, turmeric, ginger, etc. can be cultivated simultaneously in the betel garden.
In Mechinagar-6, Yam Niraula has established Multi Production Company Pvt. Ltd. by collecting betel leaves from the Bahundangi area and has been producing plates, bowls, spoons, etc.
Stating that his products are sold in the local area, he said that local governments should play a role in increasing the use of betel leaf products by banning plastic plates and bowls for environmental cleanliness.
When he set up a sales booth at the International Industrial Trade Fair held in Birtamod this Magh, he informed that even observers from outside the country were very interested in betel leaf products.
‘Industries produce small quantities of goods because they know that if there is no sale, they will have to bear losses,’ he says. ‘If the government helps in market promotion, there is a possibility that thousands of people in Jhapa can earn jobs and earn a living from betel leaf industries.’
Neelkantha Tiwari, former president of the Betel Zone, said that since the duna-tapari industries, which produce betel leaves, are operating in Mechinagar, Buddhashanti, and Arjundhara, the industry visits farmers’ homes and buys betel leaves for them.
He says that farmers in the Bahundangi area, which is highly vulnerable to wild elephants, have been cultivating betel nut as a crop that elephants do not eat.
‘The government should help in the marketing of betel nut farming and products made from its leaves,’ says Tiwari. ‘Local products are not finding a market due to betel nut imported from third countries. If farmers who cultivate betel nut, grain processors and industrialists who make products from the leaves can be encouraged, it will definitely help the country’s economy a lot.’
The Indian market for products made from betel leaves has been dominated by 90 percent, and the Indian government has been providing a nine percent incentive subsidy to its industrialists when products made from betel leaves are exported, said Baniya, the operator of Leaf Plus Pvt. Ltd.
He complains that despite being the first industry in the country to export products made from betel leaves abroad, he has not received any encouragement from the state. Baniya said that there is an obligation to certify the products produced in an Indian laboratory that they are fit for human consumption.
‘We are not able to supply as much as the demand is in the domestic and foreign markets,’ he said, ‘There is no concern about the market. On the contrary, it is sad to say that we have not received any encouragement from the state while producing and exporting environmentally friendly products abroad.’
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