Tamul Plates

Industry: Rural Manufacturing
Headquarters: Barpeta, Assam
Partner Since: December 2013
Jobs Created: 3,000

Tamul Plates produces and markets high-quality, all-natural disposable plates and bowls made from arecanut (palm) tree leaves. The company produces dinnerware through a network of affiliates across the tribal regions of Northeast India, ensuring that each affiliate has the skills and machinery needed to produce superior-quality arecanut products.

Over 69% of the Northeast population is involved in some form of seasonal farming activity. However, households in these communities are faced with stubbornly high rates of unemployment, especially as heavy annual monsoons and floods diminish the ability of farmers to earn a dependable income from conventional agriculture alone. With more than 100,000 hectares of arecanut currently farmed across Northeast India, tableware production could become a major year-round employer in poor tribal communities across the Northeast.