The Tapioca Leaf

About the Tapioca Leaf

Hair sticks have been used for thousands of years, and are both beautiful and functional. The Tapioca Leaf is a simple, smooth shape with a very modern feel. 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!

The Tapioca comes in rosewood or teak. Hair sticks are incredibly easy to use and also help to reduce breakage and damage to healthy hair. The wood holds the natural oils in your hair making it a much healthier alternative to plastic clips or elastic bands.

The Tapioca Leaf is a hand crafted hair stick, carved and finished by traditional woodcarvers in Bali, Indonesia. The wood use to create each piece comes from salvaged root wood from harvested plantations. Each Tapioca Leaf hair stick sold plants five trees into protected forests in Indonesia.

Your hair stick will arrive in recycled packaging made from papaya pulp, and in a protective fabric sleeve to keep it safe when you are not wearing 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