An Emirati entrepreneur is making use of fallen date palm tree leaves by converting them into eco-friendly cutlery.
Lamis Al Hashimy’s company, Palmade, manufactures cutlery from discarded date palm tree leaves that can be composted and turned into fertiliser to nourish the growth of more trees.
This is just the start of her ambition to develop a range of products from the date palm to replace single-use plastic in the UAE and overseas.
In a Dubai factory, machines whirr as the fibrous, sturdy leaves are ground to powder, combined with extracts such as sugar cane, converted into pellets and moulded into knives, forks, spoons, chopsticks and coffee stirrers.
The big dream is to make other materials around the date palm tree and remove plastic of short life span
Lamis Al Hashimy,
co-founder, Palmade Biodegradable Products
The disposable cutlery looks and feels like plastic and is being used in hotels and supermarkets in the UAE, Bahrain and Kuwait.
“I’m a mother of three and I wanted to create something my kids would learn from and be proud of,” said Ms Al Hashimy, co-founder of Palmade Biodegradable Products, while supervising orders at the factory in Dubai Investment Park.
Behind her, a row of conveyor belts roll out clusters of spoons and forks.
Cartons are readied for shipment with the tag: “Palmade – proudly made in the UAE with leaves from our date palm trees.”
“It’s eco-friendly, biodegradable, compostable and addresses a major problem,” she told The National.
“We are using material from an indigenous tree – there is value to be harnessed from discarded palm leaves.
“We are not cutting trees down but reusing leaves that otherwise get thrown away or burnt.
“With this, we can replace single-use plastic that is destroying our oceans, our land.”
Founded in 2019, the UAE company was launched during the Expo in October 2021.
The company partners with Emaar and teams collect leaves trimmed in tree-lined Dubai communities to produce the disposable cutlery.
The cutlery is used in Emaar hotels, at food and beverage outlets during the Formula One Grand Prix in Abu Dhabi, Spinneys supermarkets and was widely used in food stalls during Cop28 in Dubai.
From manufacturing 10,000 units every two weeks, the factory now produces 70,000 daily pieces.
The aim is to build the business in the region and take the company to markets in Asia and Europe.
From waste to value
It took years of experimentation in her garage for Ms Al Hashimy, working with her husband, to find home-grown solutions.
They first began collecting date palm leaves near their Dubai home in 2014 and turned these into paper bags and stationery.
Then they worked with academics and students at UAE University in Al Ain to create a product that needs less water than paper – bioplastics.
“This can be moulded into different things and we use a material we have created by combining date palm leaves with plant biopolymers like extracts of sugar cane or soya beans,” she said.
“This acts like a glue that binds the fibres of the leaves together to give strength and malleability to the cutlery.”
The company will soon add straws to its disposable collection.
Golf tees and hair clips from the leaves will be the first steps in the sports equipment and fashion accessory sectors.
Taking a stance
The campaign against single-use plastics is gathering momentum.
The UAE imposed a nationwide ban on single-use plastic bags earlier this year. The government announced it would prohibit the import of plastic cutlery, drinks cups and styrofoam from 2026.
The UN has said single-use plastics have led to an environmental catastrophe with up to 12 million tonnes of plastic swept into the oceans annually.
Dangerous microplastics are consumed by fish and enter the global food chain.
Ms Al Hashimy said more people need to understand that individual actions have far-reaching effects.
But it has been a challenge convincing companies to move away from buying cheaper imported plastic cutlery – a plastic spoon typically costs 5 fils and a Palmade product is about 12 fils.
It’s the larger message of buying a UAE-made green product that Ms Al Hashimy wants to drive home.
“People say what difference will I make, I’m just one person. This discounts individual efforts to make better choices,” she said.
“There are bottlenecks when I try to gain a new client because they compare us to plastic.
“I always say plastics are unfairly priced if you add what it does to the environment.
“There is an intrinsic value to shifting to a sustainable product and I believe customers now expect this of restaurants.”
Her husband and co-partner, Yousuf Caires, said it is time companies make the call to move to a locally available alternative to plastic.
He said verifying that Palmade is eco-friendly is possible due to the stringent certification process in the UAE.
“We have the certificates – but above and beyond that, you can come to the factory so you know what you are buying is really sustainable,” said Mr Caires, an executive director at Expo City Dubai who has led efforts to identify green start-ups worldwide.
Love for the date palm
Building a product from the date palm tree is at the heart of the company’s story.
“People connect to the date palm whether or not they are Emirati,” Ms Al Hashimy said.
“Most of us have sat under the shade of the date palm or eaten from it.
“You can't not be part of it having lived in the UAE.
“The big dream is to make other materials around the date palm tree and remove plastic that has a short lifespan.
“When people hear our journey, all this becomes relatable.”
How Filipinos in the UAE invest
A recent survey of 10,000 Filipino expatriates in the UAE found that 82 per cent have plans to invest, primarily in property. This is significantly higher than the 2014 poll showing only two out of 10 Filipinos planned to invest.
Fifty-five percent said they plan to invest in property, according to the poll conducted by the New Perspective Media Group, organiser of the Philippine Property and Investment Exhibition. Acquiring a franchised business or starting up a small business was preferred by 25 per cent and 15 per cent said they will invest in mutual funds. The rest said they are keen to invest in insurance (3 per cent) and gold (2 per cent).
Of the 5,500 respondents who preferred property as their primary investment, 54 per cent said they plan to make the purchase within the next year. Manila was the top location, preferred by 53 per cent.
Company%C2%A0profile
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PROFILE OF SWVL
Started: April 2017
Founders: Mostafa Kandil, Ahmed Sabbah and Mahmoud Nouh
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport
Size: 450 employees
Investment: approximately $80 million
Investors include: Dubai’s Beco Capital, US’s Endeavor Catalyst, China’s MSA, Egypt’s Sawari Ventures, Sweden’s Vostok New Ventures, Property Finder CEO Michael Lahyani
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Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
Another way to earn air miles
In addition to the Emirates and Etihad programmes, there is the Air Miles Middle East card, which offers members the ability to choose any airline, has no black-out dates and no restrictions on seat availability. Air Miles is linked up to HSBC credit cards and can also be earned through retail partners such as Spinneys, Sharaf DG and The Toy Store.
An Emirates Dubai-London round-trip ticket costs 180,000 miles on the Air Miles website. But customers earn these ‘miles’ at a much faster rate than airline miles. Adidas offers two air miles per Dh1 spent. Air Miles has partnerships with websites as well, so booking.com and agoda.com offer three miles per Dh1 spent.
“If you use your HSBC credit card when shopping at our partners, you are able to earn Air Miles twice which will mean you can get that flight reward faster and for less spend,” says Paul Lacey, the managing director for Europe, Middle East and India for Aimia, which owns and operates Air Miles Middle East.
Price, base / as tested From Dh173,775 (base model)
Engine 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo, AWD
Power 249hp at 5,500rpm
Torque 365Nm at 1,300-4,500rpm
Gearbox Nine-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined 7.9L/100km
Kathryn Hawkes of House of Hawkes on being a good guest (because we’ve all had bad ones)
- Arrive with a thank you gift, or make sure you have one for your host by the time you leave.
- Offer to buy groceries, cook them a meal or take your hosts out for dinner.
- Help out around the house.
- Entertain yourself so that your hosts don’t feel that they constantly need to.
- Leave no trace of your stay – if you’ve borrowed a book, return it to where you found it.
- Offer to strip the bed before you go.
Our legal consultants
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
MATCH INFO
Fixture: Thailand v UAE, Tuesday, 4pm (UAE)
TV: Abu Dhabi Sports
Expert input
If you had all the money in the world, what’s the one sneaker you would buy or create?
“There are a few shoes that have ‘grail’ status for me. But the one I have always wanted is the Nike x Patta x Parra Air Max 1 - Cherrywood. To get a pair in my size brand new is would cost me between Dh8,000 and Dh 10,000.” Jack Brett
“If I had all the money, I would approach Nike and ask them to do my own Air Force 1, that’s one of my dreams.” Yaseen Benchouche
“There’s nothing out there yet that I’d pay an insane amount for, but I’d love to create my own shoe with Tinker Hatfield and Jordan.” Joshua Cox
“I think I’d buy a defunct footwear brand; I’d like the challenge of reinterpreting a brand’s history and changing options.” Kris Balerite
“I’d stir up a creative collaboration with designers Martin Margiela of the mixed patchwork sneakers, and Yohji Yamamoto.” Hussain Moloobhoy
“If I had all the money in the world, I’d live somewhere where I’d never have to wear shoes again.” Raj Malhotra
Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
Juventus v Napoli, Sunday, 10.45pm (UAE)
Match on Bein Sports
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THE BIO
Occupation: Specialised chief medical laboratory technologist
Age: 78
Favourite destination: Always Al Ain “Dar Al Zain”
Hobbies: his work - “ the thing which I am most passionate for and which occupied all my time in the morning and evening from 1963 to 2019”
Other hobbies: football
Favorite football club: Al Ain Sports Club
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Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Champions parade (UAE timings)
7pm Gates open
8pm Deansgate stage showing starts
9pm Parade starts at Manchester Cathedral
9.45pm Parade ends at Peter Street
10pm City players on stage
11pm event ends
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Financial considerations before buying a property
Buyers should try to pay as much in cash as possible for a property, limiting the mortgage value to as little as they can afford. This means they not only pay less in interest but their monthly costs are also reduced. Ideally, the monthly mortgage payment should not exceed 20 per cent of the purchaser’s total household income, says Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching.
“If it’s a rental property, plan for the property to have periods when it does not have a tenant. Ensure you have enough cash set aside to pay the mortgage and other costs during these periods, ideally at least six months,” she says.
Also, shop around for the best mortgage interest rate. Understand the terms and conditions, especially what happens after any introductory periods, Ms Glynn adds.
Using a good mortgage broker is worth the investment to obtain the best rate available for a buyer’s needs and circumstances. A good mortgage broker will help the buyer understand the terms and conditions of the mortgage and make the purchasing process efficient and easier.
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65
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Skoda Superb Specs
Engine: 2-litre TSI petrol
Power: 190hp
Torque: 320Nm
Price: From Dh147,000
Available: Now
RESULT
RS Leipzig 3
Marcel Sabitzer 10', 21'
Emil Forsberg 87'
Tottenham 0
Cryopreservation: A timeline
- Keyhole surgery under general anaesthetic
- Ovarian tissue surgically removed
- Tissue processed in a high-tech facility
- Tissue re-implanted at a time of the patient’s choosing
- Full hormone production regained within 4-6 months
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
