The Cabildo of Lanzarote, through the Craftsmanship Area led by Councilor Aroa Revelo, has launched a strategic measure to support the island's craft sector, seriously affected by the shortage of raw material due to the plague of Diocalandra frumenti, known as palm weevil.
The president of the Cabildo, Oswaldo Betancort, has underlined the importance of combining environmental protection with support for the island's traditional trades, since “we are facing a clear example of how an environmental action can and should go hand in hand with local development. Protecting palm trees is also protecting our trades and our way of life”.
Given the growing difficulty in obtaining quality palm heart - the tender part of the heart of palm used in the production of hats, bags, mats, figures and other basketry products - the Island Institution has hired a pruner who will be in charge, during the next months, of the selective extraction of healthy palm heart, free of plague and without recent phytosanitary treatments.
Offering a solution
This action has been possible thanks to obtaining the relevant environmental permits, processed by Councilor Aroa Revelo, which will allow intervention in healthy palm trees located in the seven municipalities of Lanzarote, always under strict criteria of sustainability and phytosanitary quality.
“With this measure we give a direct response to the needs of the craft sector, which has been facing serious difficulties in accessing its main raw material”, said Aroa Revelo.
The process will be carried out in coordination with the public company GMR, in charge of executing the Control and Eradication Plan of Diocalandra frumenti promoted by the Government of the Canary Islands, in collaboration with the Cabildo of Lanzarote. This entity has a detailed map of the phytosanitary status of the island's palm grove, a key tool for selecting specimens suitable for palm heart extraction.
This initiative on artisan raw materials is in addition to other measures executed during this term by the Corporation chaired by Oswaldo Betancort, which recently cultivated wheat to then deliver it to the island collective.
