The Tapioca Leaf

About the Tapioca Leaf

The Tapioca Leaf comes in either Rosewood or Teak. No piece is ever the same, they are unique each time from their shape to the grains in the wood. All of our hair sticks are hand carved from sustainably sourced root wood left over from plantations in Indonesia. Your Tapioca Leaf hair stick will arrive in recycled packaging with a protective fabric sleeve to keep it safe whilst traveling.

Dimensions

Suited For Your Hair Type?

The Tapioca hair stick particularly suits thick hair. It’s large upper body allows it to support a lot of hair. The indentation at the top of the hair stick reflects the shape of leaves eaten in the wild, and also holds the hair firmly in place. These hair sticks are incredibly easy to use, and they help to reduce breakage and damage to hair, as well as holding in your hairs natural oils. Visit our shop to see our whole collection as we have something to suit every style.

Inspired By Nature | The design is based on the leaves and branches of the cassava plant, from which tapioca is derived. Cassava is a staple root vegetable in many South American and South Asian countries, including Indonesia. The roots can be used to manufacture many biodegradable products, and its resin has been found to be a viable plastic substitute that is renewable, reusable, recyclable and sustainable. It’s easy to see why we decided to name a hair stick after it!

Your Environmental Impact?

Planting trees is one of the best ways to fight climate change. Trees not only absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, they also provide a habitat for a diverse range of species in the rainforest.

Trees Planted

5

CO₂ Savings Per Year

250 lbs

Oxygen Generated Per Year for

10 humans

Why roots?

Wood is only a renewable and eco-friendly material if it is consciously sourced. Tropical hardwoods in particular grow very slowly and in low densities, and regenerate poorly after logging. These species are often taken from forests in non-sustainable numbers, and illegal ways.

Searching for a way of sourcing wood sustainably, SAYA Designs came across Made & Ways, sculptors who dig up and recycle root wood from old commercial plantations all across Indonesia. The roots are left behind by loggers harvesting trees on large-scale production sites. They take hundreds of years to decompose and have little value for the soil.

By using this waste material we are having as little impact on the environment as possible.

Recycled Rosewood Root

Rosewood is one of the most popular agroforestry plants in Indonesia. Its high value has encouraged over harvesting, and the natural populations of this tree are facing extinction. Since 1998 the IUCN World Conservation Agency have labeled it a vulnerable species. Scientific name: Dalbergia Latifolia

Recycled Teak Root

The heartwood of teak (the centre of the tree) is a brownish red in colour, and it’s sapwood (the outer part) is a pale yellowish brown. Native to South East Asia it is valued for its durability and as such is in high demand for boat building, construction, and furniture. This has led to overexploitation, however, there has been a recent rise in the number of sustainable teak plantations throughout the seasonally dry tropics. Scientific name: Tectona grandis