Satun: Student's "banana leaf" sandwich packaging wows netizens

[webfact]

Student's "banana leaf" sandwich packaging wows netizens

 

 

Thai Rath reported on the case of a student in Thailand's south who is doing her bit to save the environment by using less plastic. 

 

A teacher at Khuan Don Withaya school in Satun called Ariya had gone on Facebook to show pictures of sandwiches wrapped in eco-friendly banana leaf with a natural tie. 

 

Netizens said this was a great idea and Thai Rath went to the school to talk to M5 student Walaiporn Sadaeman. 

 

She explained that previously outside contractors had done all the catering and plastic waste was terrible.

 

When the school director allowed students to bring in their own snacks for sale she jumped at the chance.

 

Originally she packaged her sandwiches in paper but then hit on the idea to use banana leaf.  

 

Her ten baht snacks are not only delicious but environmentally friendly, she said. At first she sold ten a day now this is well over 100 a week giving her money too. 

 

Using banana leaf increases profits for her as well.

 

The school is known as a "Zero Waste School". 

 

Source: Thai Rath

 

 

-- © Copyright Thai Visa News 2019-01-22

 

[bluesofa]

That's great news and enterprising too.

 

I wonder what the 'natural tie' exactly is?

In the right-hand photo, what's the very dark green wrapping in the centre - is that a type of banana leaf too?

[cornishcarlos]

1 hour ago, webfact said:

hit on the idea to use banana leaf. 

 

I'm all for enterprising kids, it's a rare thing to find a free thinker in any school here but....

She didn't "hit on the idea". Banana leaves have been used for wrapping food for centuries !!

It's amazing how many times someone in Thailand can invent the wheel...

[seahorse]

2 hours ago, bluesofa said:

That's great news and enterprising too.

 

I wonder what the 'natural tie' exactly is?

In the right-hand photo, what's the very dark green wrapping in the centre - is that a type of banana leaf too?

It looks like a strip off a banana leaf. 

[unamazedloso]

im a natural banana grower of 2000+ plants and we use no chemicals. I wouldnt dare even touch another farms banana leaves. Even our goats only eat our banana leaves. Weird... Good for the enviro though. Im all for alternatives.

[Kerryd]

3 hours ago, bluesofa said:

That's great news and enterprising too.

 

I wonder what the 'natural tie' exactly is?

In the right-hand photo, what's the very dark green wrapping in the centre - is that a type of banana leaf too?

The light coloured "tie" is a natural fibre, part of the leaf I believe. The dark strip around the sandwich in the right picture is also a part of the leaf.

 

The lady across the street from me often makes a "khao lom mat" dessert (sticky rice with banana inside, wrapped in banana leaf and steamed).

She buys the banana leaves and washes them, then leaves them out to dry. Cooks the rice, cuts the leaves into strips, puts some rice on a strip, a piece of banana, some more rice on top then wraps the rest of the banana strip around it and ties it off with that lighter coloured fibre before tossing them into a steamer.

I think that fibre is a part of the central stem of the banana leaf, sliced into thin strips. Maybe soaked (boiled) for awhile to make it more pliable before being used.

Next time I see her making some I'll ask her about it.

 

Some places will make similar dishes but will fold the banana leaf strips "upwards", fold them over at the top and secure it with a bamboo skewer.

[Kerryd]

Actually the tie may be a strip of bamboo, softened as mentioned above. Haven't seen that for sale in the market but haven't really been looking.

[Ulic]

Reusable Tupperware container keeps food fresh and protected. That's what I use.

[Nyezhov]

Kudos to the kid for hustling. If she is selling the sarnies for 10B each and grossing 1000B a week, she is probably putting between 3-500 in her pocket.

[RJRS1301]

Enterprising student, shows that using the older traditions pays dividends.

The local plastic suppliers will dislike this, but keep it up. 

[maxcorrigan]

6 hours ago, cornishcarlos said:

 

I'm all for enterprising kids, it's a rare thing to find a free thinker in any school here but....

She didn't "hit on the idea". Banana leaves have been used for wrapping food for centuries !!

It's amazing how many times someone in Thailand can invent the wheel...

I think the gist of this "invention" is wrapping fallang type food in banana leaves, which i think is new, i think your cornish pasties are quite safe for the moment though!????

[Bangkok Herps]

One of my favorite local sellers recently switched from leaves to Styrofoam.

It upsets me, and I mentioned it to him. Leaves decompose and put nutrients back into the soil. Styrofoam is trash that lasts forever. You pollute three times - environmental destruction pulling it out of the ground, air and water pollution in the manufacturing process, and then waste left when you're done. Not to mention shipping costs. But it's so hard to resist the pressure to "go modern".

What do people think the end game is? Our world is already drowning in plastic and it's only been around a few decades and mostly in the West at that...where's it going to disappear to in the next 50-100 years when 10x as much plastic is getting used?

[JimmyJ]

On 1/22/2019 at 12:32 AM, Kerryd said:

The light coloured "tie" is a natural fibre, part of the leaf I believe. The dark strip around the sandwich in the right picture is also a part of the leaf.

 

The lady across the street from me often makes a "khao lom mat" dessert (sticky rice with banana inside, wrapped in banana leaf and steamed).

She buys the banana leaves and washes them, then leaves them out to dry. Cooks the rice, cuts the leaves into strips, puts some rice on a strip, a piece of banana, some more rice on top then wraps the rest of the banana strip around it and ties it off with that lighter coloured fibre before tossing them into a steamer.

I think that fibre is a part of the central stem of the banana leaf, sliced into thin strips. Maybe soaked (boiled) for awhile to make it more pliable before being used.

Next time I see her making some I'll ask her about it.

 

Some places will make similar dishes but will fold the banana leaf strips "upwards", fold them over at the top and secure it with a bamboo skewer.

 

I was buying sticky rice wrapped in banana leaf with the bamboo skewer in the mornings in Aonang, Krabi,  last summer.