"1 Plant, 100 Uses" explores the many ways familiar Indian plants, leaves, fruits and trees have been part of everyday life — from food and farming to homes, traditions and natural remedies. Each story takes one plant and uncovers the surprising ways people have found it useful, often across generations.

Most people know the areca palm for the small nut hidden inside its orange fruit. But on farms across India, the palm has much more to offer.

Once the nuts are harvested, its fallen leaf sheaths and other parts of the plant can still find a second life. They can be turned into plates, used as livestock feed, and even put back to work on the farm.

In Mizoram, Karnataka and Kerala, researchers and farmers have found several ways to make better use of this familiar plantation crop.

Here are some of the lesser-known ways the areca palm can be useful.

A fallen leaf can become a plate

One of the most interesting uses of the areca palm comes from something that would otherwise lie on the ground.

In Mizoram, women farmers collect naturally fallen areca palm leaf sheaths and turn them into biodegradable plates. According to the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), two community groups in Kolasib and Mamit districts were supported with semi-automatic machines to make the plates.

The process is fairly simple. The fallen sheaths are collected, sorted, and graded before being dried in the sun for at least a week. Suitable sheaths are then shaped into plates using dies measuring 20 cm and 30 cm in diameter.

The initiative has also created an additional source of income for tribal women. Between 2019-20 and 2021-22, the two groups together produced more than 1.6 million plates, according to ICAR.

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