3 Ways to Make Your Own Tableware

-An Introduction to Packaging Waste

Every day, hundreds of millions of single-use cutlery, bowls, trays, cans, bottles and plates are tossed away into an endless sea of garbage: landfills, where they begin a life of polluting natural resources and choking life. Single-use materials, such as plastic, leak chemicals into the soil, and the nearby water bodies absorb its toxins, causing an environmental hazard, which comes back to taunt human life with poisoned seafood and water unfit for consumption and irrigation, along with infertile soil.

Solutions for sustainable and biodegradable packaging have been developed, but they are often far out of reach, as most companies and developers are in the testing stage and have not yet gained access for product distribution. Common people who do not have access to high-end laboratories are often unable to try their hand to make their own environment- friendly bowls and spoons. In this article, we will offer 3 new, unique, traditional yet simple and minimalistic ways of producing you own DIY cutlery and containers, along with a few companies who we've gained inspiration from, and where you can buy your sustainable kitchenware at affordable prices.

#1 Coconut Shell Bowls

Coconuts have often been an essential part in the lives of several people living by the coastal areas of

South and Southeast Asia- From the homes that are littered across the vast green landscape of South India to the houses among the hilly geography of Thailand to the villages that stand proud by the seashore of Indonesia. Coconuts are used for their sweet energizing water, their oil and milk used to enrich dishes, along with the pulp of the glorious fruit. Archaeological searches have proved that the coconut shell was often reused to make ladles and cooking instruments by the island country of Sri Lanka, proving its everlasting use.

Following the upbringing of these humble traditions, several companies such as Coconut Bowls have

begun to produce bowls and cutlery made out of coconut shells which are farmed sustainably in the fields of Vietnam. You can visit their official site to learn more or to buy these unique bowls. If you prefer slightly cheaper tableware, a quick search through Google for coconut bowls will open multiple doors of opportunity to buy these bowls. As for making them, a quick YouTube tutorial ought to do the trick, where you will be instructed to remove the fibres coating the shell and remove the white pulp inside with a coconut knife or a scraper, which provides both a biodegradable bowl and a new ingredient for cooking.

#2 Jaggery Grains Cups

Almost every South Asian knows the hassle of leaving round sweet treats made of jaggery and grain in the open for too long: the soft and warms sweets harden into little monstrosities that require a sacrifice of semi-broken teeth. Attaware, a company based in Delhi, the capital of India takes advantage of this tragic tale. Mr. Puneet Dutta started the company in 2018 to spread the use of  edible and biodegradable cutlery. A new technology has been found to create a mixture of various grains such as wheat, rice, barley and sorghum, and to blend it with jaggery, which hardens and forms a stable foundation for the containers.

As of now, Attaware is not yet opened to the market, but you can make your own DIY edible containers. A quick trip to the local South Asian market, and a search for your preferred grain and a block of jaggery, which is liquid sugar obtained from the sugarcane can help you make your own tableware. You can research for and try out a standard atta ladoo recipe, and mold the dough into the shape of your preferred container. It might not work as well as Attaware's products or look as good, but it is a promising start!

#Biscuit Cutlery

Biscuits are often a joy, a crunchy, sweet yet not overly so, and are blessed with a beautiful texture. It comes in all shapes, sizes, flavours, fillings and coatings. Many bakeries, confectionaries and restaurants have started to offer their deserts in biscuit cups along with biscuits spoons and forks, which makes a nice treat to compliment the refreshing taste for whatever had already been made for desert. Biscuit containers may not be as sturdy as the rest of the innovations listed, but is the easiest to make and consume.

YouTube offers several tutorials to make your own biscuit cutlery, often employing a standard cookie recipe, but with less decoration and mold work. Often, all that is needed is a simple biscuit recipe,  but the dough should be layered out thicker than usual for extra support. After sufficient time in the oven, you get to admire your newest creations of sustainability: biscuit spoons! If you're simply not in a mood for baking, there is a chance a search on Google Maps could land you on a restaurant which serves their
food with biscuit tableware.

We hope that we have inspired you to try out these innovations and to remain an eco warrior! Keep fighting for the environment and set the world alight with your creative fire!