This year, TCC will be using Eco Palms

during our Palm Sunday worship service

 

communities at risk
More than 300 million palm fronds are harvested each year for US consumption alone—most of them for Palm Sunday. Yet for the communities who harvest these plants year after year, palm fronds rarely represent jubilation. Although US palm purchases may reach as high as $4.5 million each year, the palm harvesters themselves earn very little. Families and communities, who rely heavily on palm harvesting for income, represent the poorer segments of the rural populations in the palm-producing areas of  Mexico and Guatemala.

environment at risk
Typically, palm harvesting is done by community members hired by local contractors, who then sell palms to large floral export firms. Payment is based on volume, so harvesters are motivated to gather a large quantity of palms without regard for quality. As a result, up to half the palms harvested are usually discarded due to poor quality. Many palm producing areas are important biosphere reserves, and the harsh harvesting techniques rapidly deplete the forest’s rich biodiversity.

good news: a healthier harvest
Eco-palms are harvested in a more sustainable way—harvesters are paid on the quality of their palms rather than the quantity. These communities are also committed to using harvesting practices that minimize the impact on the natural forest. Eco-palm harvesters and community members sort and package the palms themselves and sell their palms directly rather than relying on middlemen. In this way, eco-palms improve local communities’ standard of living and ensure that the money paid for the palms benefit those who labor. As we raise our branches in celebration today, we play an important role in protecting forests, local jobs, and sustainable livelihoods in harvesting communities.