The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Natural Environment has established more than 20 specific areas on the public estates of the Llevant Peninsula Natural Park where the collection of palm fronds will be permitted, an activity linked for generations to the sustainable management of the territory and traditional "llata" craftsmanship.
With this measure, as the Ministry has indicated in a press release, the promotion of the traditional use of palm fronds is maintained.
The collection of palm fronds, the only native palm species in the Mediterranean, is carried out in a way that balances the protection of natural habitats with the continuity of traditional uses associated with rural life and the popular culture of Mallorca.
The regional department has emphasized that this historical forest use, regulated and respectful of the conservation of protected natural spaces, helps to keep alive an activity intimately related to Mallorcan popular culture and the production of artisanal pieces such as baskets, rugs, hats, and other objects made using the traditional "llata" technique.
The Director General of Natural Environment and Forest Management, Anna Torres, has highlighted that "the sustainable use of palm fronds is an example of how the management of protected natural spaces can reconcile the conservation of habitats and species with traditional uses linked to the territory."
"The conservation of natural spaces also implies preserving the knowledge and practices that are part of our history and identity, which contributes to keeping alive the cultural and ethnological heritage, in this case, of Mallorca," she added.
Among the public estates where this use is permitted are also recently acquired properties by the Government, such as the Son Jaumell estate, one of the most representative in the municipality of Capdepera.
The incorporation of these lands facilitates the recovery and support of traditional practices associated with the sustainable use of forest resources and, at the same time, strengthens the link between natural heritage, popular culture, and public management of the territory.
In this context, the Art de la Pauma association of the Llevant Peninsula Natural Park has been carrying out key work for more than six years in the recovery and transmission of knowledge related to palm fronds and "llata" craftsmanship.
The project, in which the environmental educators of the Natural Park actively collaborate, arose from the reactivation of traditional palm harvesting with the aim of keeping this ancestral craft alive.
Currently, the entity brings together more than 140 members, meets every week to organize workshops and activities for the transmission of traditional "llata" techniques, and carries out an intense task of disseminating Mallorca's ethnological heritage through intergenerational encounters and outreach proposals.
During the last year, it has organized more than 44 workshops in educational centers and has helped extend this tradition to more than 25 municipalities on the island.
Torres also highlighted the work carried out by both the association and the team of environmental educators from the Natural Park, emphasizing that the transmission of this knowledge to young people "is fundamental for the culture of palm and 'llata' to continue being part of Mallorca's living heritage".
Finally, the Director General highlighted the importance of the associative fabric in the defense and continuity of cultural values linked to protected natural spaces.
As every year, the Ministry participates in the organization of the Setmana de l'Art de la Pauma, which this year celebrates its sixth edition. This event, which will take place between this Wednesday and Saturday, aims to promote traditional "llata" craftsmanship and crafts related to the dwarf palm.
The main event of the program will be the traditional night fair, which will be held this Friday in Capdepera, with the presence of exhibitors from Mallorca and other parts of the Peninsula specializing in crafts made with palm and other plant fibers.