These plates are made from naturally fallen raw palm leaves. After collecting the leaves, they are rinsed with high pressure water and steamed carefully. Over 80% of the water used in the process is recaptured and reused. Once clean, the palm leaves are naturally sun-dried. Next, they are hand stretched and flattened. Afterwards, multiple plates of different shapes/sizes are cut from each leaf in order to reduce waste. However, in North America we market plates made from only the center portion of the leaves to ensure superior quality and beautiful texture. Finally, each plate is checked for defects and packaged once it passes quality control.