Results from a survey conducted with North American Christian churches, which represent some of the largest buyers of palm fronds, showed high levels of awareness and willingness to pay for sustainable palm offered during Easter. This document presents a short description of the process necessary to prepare for a sustainable palm sale to participating churches. An outline of the 2005 pilot project is proposed. As well, it presents: (1) guidelines for the sustainable harvesting and processing of the palms which aim to avoid discarding up to 50 percent of the fronds collected, and (2) a definition of certification guidelines for monitoring palm populations in order to help guarantee the quality of the product that enters the market and minimize the number of fronds discarded. Also presented are supply, demand, and marketing considerations relating to certifications of xate palm. The main objectives of the project are to promote the conservation of natural forests, the sustainable management of Chamaedorea palms, and improved local livelihoods through the certification of palm management and sale of the palm and a certified-fair trade label. Its overarching goal is to put in place a chain of custody for the harvesting, management, and trade practices for Chamaedorea palms originating in Guatemala and Mexico for sale to church congregations in the United States, Canada and Europe. |
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