Opinion Turning over an old leaf

The disposable bowls,plates and trays which retain the natural color and patina of the palm fronds are the epitome of green chic. They are efficiently bio-degradable.

They have been used in the NBA All-Stars game,the NFL Superbowl VIP party,VHI concerts and events for Starbucks,Google and Pixar. They retail at 300 upscale stores such as Whole Foods for $3.99 to $6.49 for a pack of eight.

VerTerra,which means True to the Earth,is capturing the imagination of a growing number of Americans who are increasingly embracing a green lifestyle. But its origins are completely humble and totally Indian.

Dwork first came upon the idea of setting up VerTerra (two companies by the same name one registered in India and the other incorporated in the United States) when he was driving through a village outside of Bangalore. Dwork saw two poor women on the roadside press the areca palm spathes pre-dunked in a barrel of water to fashion them into plates and bowls. “I thought it was totally cool,” says the chatty Dwork,who was then a summer intern at Infosys Technologies.

When he later revealed his plans to set up a company to produce and market the products in the United States,his Indian friends laughed. “What?! Those beggar’s plates? Seriously,nobody will use them in America,” they told him.

Many Indian stores have long been stocking the traditional version of these ingenious eco-friendly plates and bowls. The VerTerra twist,however,is in the design,the quality controls and hygiene checks that these products are put through in order to pass the stringent import regulatory standards of USDA (Department of Agriculture).

For the sake of logistics,the factory is situated in interior Karnataka in what is the centre of the largest concentration of palm trees in the world,says Dwork. The fallen palm fronds are collected from the neighboring farms and supplied to VerTerra’s godowns.

For Dwork,there have been unique challenges,setting up in rural India. For one,he says the progress of big Indian cities has not percolated at all. Setting up the production facility,while commuting from New York and living in rural Karnataka for days on end,has been a test.

The training of factory staff,now numbering nearly 200,was another story. “Imagine trying to describe any color to a blind person,” he said of trying to teach village folk hygiene consciousness and quality control.

He hastened to add that he was making no value judgment but it took time and patience to change the local standards. To get around some of the challenges,VerTerra has very method and process-driven checks.

The results have been dramatic: a few million pieces are produced and shipped each month. There have been no complaints from users for several months now.

What makes the serve ware trendily green is the fact that the palm spathes are cleaned using high pressure water jets and shaped by steam presses. In other words,they are 100 percent natural and devoid of chemical bleaches,polish and glues.

The men and women who work in Dwork’s factory are paid $40 a month during the first two months and anything between $40 and $140 after that. That might not earn VerTerra’s plates a Fair Trade label.

The Fair Trade social movement advocates paying a higher price to producers and workers in order to help them move towards economic stability. Over half the product price is shared between retailers and wholesalers,justifies Dwork.

Still,wealthy consumers in the West are going into a green frenzy over the products made by employing rural folk,he describes. To them,the fashionable appeal of the bowls and plates fashioned out of naturally-shed palm fronds is undeniable.

saritha.rai@expressindia.com