A group of women and people with disabilities from the municipality of Tocancipá in Cundinamarca, trained comprehensively on how to weave the enea plant and market it, so that it replaces the traditional misuse of wax palm during the Holy Week celebrations.
The training, which lasted about two months and which was led by the municipal Ministry of Environment, consisted of teaching them methods of using this plant material to make handicrafts, crafts and jobs that could later be marketed.
Wilson Infante, Secretary of the Environment of Tocancipá, explained that the enea is an ideal plant to replace the wax palm, since it is a wetland plant and that in some cases it becomes invasive and its material is conducive to making these bouquets and other artisanal elements.
“The use of the wax palm was causing a deterioration of the yellow-eared parrot's habitat, so it was putting itself at risk and generating its extinction. That is why, in order to take care of this ecosystem and this species, it is necessary to look for alternatives to make this branch,” said the official.
During the process, there was an exchange of knowledge with artisans from the municipality of Fúquene, because they have been engaged in crafts with this type of plant for several decades.
By doing this exchange of knowledge, they learned how fabrics were made and how to properly market these products, according to the secretary.
Other environmental experiences to live the Major Week
Through the campaign “Holy Week with Environmental Awareness”, the municipal administration is telling the inhabitants of the region that during the celebration of the major week they do not use the emblematic wax palm and instead use a native plant.
According to Jairo Rey, secretary of Economic Development and Environment of the municipality: “The wax palm is very important for Tenjo, because in the Carrasquilla village, via la Punta, we have 49 of them. It seems that one was in another sector, in another part of the country like in Quindio.”
The idea is that once the parishioners attend the traditional religious events that will begin next Palm Sunday, they will go to one of the 69 properties of the municipality and plant the plant they have purchased in one of the municipal nurseries.
“We want to make people aware that the wax palm is a national tree that has protection because it is in a period of extinction. What we do not want is for this national tree to be extinct and that, instead of bringing the wax palm, the community brings a native tree,” said Secretary Rey.
For Mrs. Clara Navas, a resident of the region, this initiative not only gave her new lessons, but also allowed her to understand the importance of the wax palm in Colombia and the reasons why it should be taken care of.
“If we are knocking down the wax palm we are killing the environment. We need to look for ways to continue celebrating our holy weeks but responsibly,” he said.
In context | Tenjo (Cundinamarca) launches campaign that proposes to change the wax palm for a native plant at Easter - Infobae
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