Kolapath (Areca Leaf Sheath)

Kolapath (කොලපත) is the Sinhala name for the leaf sheath of the areca nut palm, Areca catechu, known in Sri Lanka as puwak. The sheath is the broad, stiff base of each palm leaf, the part that wraps around the trunk. When a leaf grows old it drops from the tree on its own, and the sheath falls with it, to be picked up from the ground. Nothing has to be cut to get it. For generations Sri Lankan households have used these fallen sheaths to wrap food, carry water and make simple containers, and today the same material is pressed into the leaf plates, bowls and cups sold around the world as areca leaf tableware. This page explains what Kolapath is, how it has traditionally been used, how plates are made from it, and how to use and care for them.

What Kolapath Is

The areca nut palm is a tall, slender palm that grows wild and in home gardens across the wet and intermediate zones of Sri Lanka, and it is cultivated for its nut, the arecanut that is chewed with betel leaves. Each of its feathery leaves is 1.2 to 2 metres long. At the base, the leaf widens into a smooth sheath that clasps the trunk, and together the sheaths of the youngest leaves form the green column, called the crownshaft, just below the crown.

As the palm grows, its oldest leaf turns yellow and then brown, and finally falls, sheath and all. On the ground the sheath dries into a tough, flexible sheet: pale cream to tan on the inner face, darker and slightly fibrous on the outer face, which is the natural colour and grain you see on an areca leaf plate. Because a palm keeps producing new leaves, it keeps shedding sheaths through the year, and a garden with a few areca palms gives a steady supply.

In Tamil the sheath is called paakku mattai. In English it goes by areca sheath, areca leaf sheath, or simply areca leaf, which is why products made from it are usually sold as "areca leaf plates".

Traditional Uses in Sri Lanka

Before plastic, Kolapath was one of the everyday materials of village life, alongside banana leaves and coconut shells. A fresh or soaked sheath can be folded and tied, and a dry one is stiff enough to hold its shape. Common uses included:

• Wrapping food. Cooked rice was packed in Kolapath for a journey or a day in the fields, and the sheath was also used to hold and store kithul treacle.
• Containers and scoops. Folded and tied at the ends, a sheath becomes a simple tray, basket or scoop for carrying grain, vegetables or water.
• Plates for the day. A clean sheath, cut or folded, served as a plate at almsgivings, festivals and family gatherings, and was thrown away afterwards to rot back into the garden.
• Fans, toys and fuel. Pieces of sheath were trimmed into hand fans, children dragged each other along on a large sheath as a play sledge, and old, broken sheaths went into the hearth as kindling.

Many of these uses faded as plastic bags, foam boxes and metal plates became cheap, but the material never disappeared from rural gardens, and its revival as tableware has given it a new value.

From Fallen Sheath to Leaf Plate

Areca leaf plates are made from Kolapath with nothing more than water, heat and pressure. The process is simple and is often run as a small village or family enterprise:

1. Collecting. Fallen sheaths are gathered from areca gardens and plantations. Only naturally shed sheaths are used, so no tree is cut and no green leaf is taken.
2. Cleaning. The sheaths are soaked and washed in clean water to remove dust and soften them, then scrubbed and rinsed.
3. Drying. They are dried, usually in the sun, until the moisture is right for pressing. Damaged or discoloured sheaths are set aside.
4. Pressing. Each sheath is pressed between heated moulds, which shape it into a round, square, oval or rectangular plate, a bowl or a cup, and also sterilise the surface. No glue, lacquer, wax or plastic lining is added.
5. Trimming and packing. The edges are trimmed, the pieces are checked by hand, and they are stacked and packed.

Because every sheath is different, no two plates are quite alike. Variations in colour, faint spots and visible grain are a sign of a natural material, not a defect.

Why Kolapath Plates Are a Good Alternative to Plastic

• Made from a by-product. The raw material falls from the tree anyway. Using it gives areca growers and village workers an extra income from something that would otherwise be burned or left to rot.
• Nothing added. A properly made plate is just pressed leaf sheath, with no chemical binder or coating.
• Compostable. When you are finished, a used plate can go into a compost heap or garden bed, where it breaks down like any other plant matter.
• Sturdy. Pressed Kolapath is stiff and holds rice and curry, gravy or oily food without going soggy for the length of a meal, unlike many paper plates.
• Handsome on the table. The warm colour and grain suit weddings, parties, picnics, buffets and restaurants that want a natural look.

Using and Caring for Areca Leaf Plates

• Hot and cold food. They can hold hot rice and curry, soups in a bowl, desserts, fruit and snacks.
• Reheating. Some makers say their plates can go in a microwave for a short reheat. Do not put them in a conventional oven, on a stove or over an open flame.
• Reuse. After dry food, a plate can be wiped or briefly rinsed, dried completely and used again. Do not leave it soaking in water and do not put it in a dishwasher.
• Storage. Keep unused plates in a dry, airy place. Like any plant material, they can develop mould if stored damp.
• Disposal. Break used plates into pieces and add them to compost or bury them in the garden.

Not to Be Confused With

Several different plants are called "areca". The ornamental areca palm or butterfly palm grown in pots and gardens, Dypsis lutescens, is a different species; its fronds are used for decoration, not for Kolapath. Sri Lanka also has a wild dwarf relative of the areca nut palm, Areca concinna. True Kolapath comes from the areca nut palm, Areca catechu.

Areca Leaf Products from Lakpura

Lakpura ships plates, dishes and cups pressed from areca leaf sheath worldwide:

• Lakpura® Handmade Areca Leaf Round Food Plates, for everyday meals and events.
• Lakpura® Handmade Areca Leaf Food Plate (Square Type), a stackable square plate.
• Lakpura® Areca Round Plate and Lakpura® Areca Square Dish.
• Lakpura® Areca Oval Dish and Lakpura® Areca Rectangular Dish, for serving.
• Lakpura® Areca Leaf Tea Cup, for tea and other drinks.
• Lakpura® Areca Nut Plant, to grow your own puwak palm in a warm, humid garden.

Kolapath is one part of a palm that Sri Lankans use from root to crown. Read more about the areca nut palm, its nut, and the sheaf of betel with which the nut is offered and chewed.

Header photograph: a fallen areca nut palm leaf with its sheath, by കാക്കര, Wikimedia Commons, licensed CC BY-SA 3.0, cropped.