KANNIYAKUMARI: Swoosh…stirred by the passing breeze, long palm fronds gently grazed the rooftops of E L Prathee Jeen’s childhood home in the Ethavilai village of Kanniyakumari. The village sat nestled among these panai marams, woven into the fabric of their daily life. Jeen recollects playing with nungu vandi, sipping nungu sarbath, and sleeping on palm-fibre mats. In her early 40s, she quit her teaching profession and took up a new life mission — to revive the lost glory of the palm tree, a symbol which, she says, is deeply rooted in Tamil community and landscape.
The 43-year-old now travels across Tamil Nadu to plant palm saplings, conduct awareness campaigns, and train communities to craft value-added palm products, through her organisation the TAN Palm Foundation.
Fondly called “Panai Mara Tharahai” (Palm Star), Jeen is a familiar face at social gatherings, weddings, and political events — often gifting palm-leaf hats she personally makes. These handmade gifts, which she distributes even to policymakers, serve as reminders of the importance of palm conservation. “Palm trees are not just symbols of tropical beauty,” she says, “They are lifelines — offering food, shelter, and income to generations of people. Preserving them is preserving our heritage.”
Jeen trains others, especially women, in making palm-based products — baskets, hats, fans, and decorative items — helping them build livelihoods while promoting eco-conscious practices. Though she doesn’t come from a family of traditional palm climbers, Jeen was raised with a deep appreciation for the tree’s value. Her father, P Eliyas, a businessman, and her mother, K Leela Bai, a homeopathy practitioner, instilled in her a respect for sustainable living.
“Palm wasn’t just a tree in our village — it was part of our daily life,” Jeen recalls. “From what we drank to what we slept on, palm was everywhere.” A postgraduate in History with a BLit in Tamil and Montessori training, Jeen taught at several schools across Tamil Nadu, and eventually worked for over a decade at Fathima Public School in Kottamam, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. Her hands-on, activity-based teaching style allowed her to weave environmental education into her lessons, including the significance of palm trees. But the pull of the panai maram was too strong.
Through her foundation, Jeen conducts workshops for school and college students, farmers and public. She distributes palm seeds, organises planting drives, and advocates for more plantations along water bodies and coastal belts, where palms can help reduce soil erosion and support biodiversity.
She says the mission is not just about trees, but about reviving a way of life that respects sustainability. “Educating the next generation on the ecological, economic, and cultural value of palms is essential. Only then will conservation become a collective responsibility.”
The foundation also showcases palm-based products at community and religious events, and offers free palm-leaf caps to kids and public as part of its outreach. S Jansi, district convener of NGOs Coach-Tamil Nadu, notes, “Prathee Jeen has been instrumental in raising awareness on palm conservation and promoting the use of palm-based products.”
P Johny Amirtha Jose, who joined her in several awareness drives, recalls how she showcased traditional palm products like karupatti (palm jaggery) and pathaneer (palm nectar) at places of worship. Another resident, M Jaya, who has known Jeen since childhood, says, “She has always had a deep love for palm trees and everything they represent. Her life is surrounded by palm trees.”
(Edited by Mary Catherene)