Diocese of Davenport

Palm Sunday goes green
By Celine Klosterman

“Eco-palms” are harvested in a more worker- and environment-friendly way than most palms.

With “eco-palms,” parishes can help protect the environment and promote economic justice during Palm Sunday.
Several organizations, including Catholic Relief Services (CRS), are promoting Guatemalan and Mexican palms that are harvested in a worker- and forest-friendly way. Specifically, eco-palm workers are rewarded for the quality, not quantity, of palms they harvest, and they work to minimize damage to the forest where the palms grow.
Also, workers sort, package and sell the stems themselves instead of depending on middlemen who’d take a share of sales income. And a 5-cent social premium added to each palm’s price goes toward funds for things like health insurance, scholarships and teacher salaries.
The eco-palm system is a change from the typical way of harvesting palms, reports Lutheran World Relief (LWR). That organization was the first to pick up on the project, which the University of Minnesota and North American Commission for Environmental Cooperation started in 2005. CRS was invited last year to take part, said Jackie DeCarlo, CRS fair trade program advisor.
Usually, harvesters receive higher pay for gathering more palms, but up to half of the fronds are later tossed out because they’re low quality. That approach threatens the ecosystem.
But since the new harvesting method was introduced, only 5-7 percent of collected stems are thrown out, reports LWR.
“This is a nice combination of caring for God’s earth and God’s people,” said DeCarlo. Catholic social teaching promotes “stewardship of God’s creation” and solidarity with the poor, she noted, and the eco-palm project embraces both values.
The leafy, dark green eco-palms cost about 23 cents each, twice as much as some of the thin palm strips many parishes buy. Individual parishes will have to decide whether they can budget for the extra cost, said Deacon Frank Agnoli, director of liturgy for the Davenport Diocese.
“I hope that many will make use of this opportunity,” he said. “After all, there is more to Christian living than the bottom line.” Lent is a time for charity, he added, in addition to fasting and prayer.
Said DeCarlo, “We’re really delighted that more Catholics are celebrating justice while celebrating Palm Sunday.”
For an order form, visit www.lwr.org/palms/2008Order.pdf, or call (612) 624-7418 for more information. Orders are due Feb. 20.

(Return to Home)