Over a million Christmas trees are sold in Czechia each year, many of them having been imported from as far as Denmark and Norway. A new initiative, called Zachraň stromek or Save a Tree, has come up with a more sustainable way of celebrating Christmas. It offers locally grown trees that would never make it to the market due to their imperfections. I discussed the project with one of its authors, Jana Brišová, and first asked her how she got the idea to sell crooked Christmas trees:
“We were actually on a hike with my friends in South Bohemia and as we walked through a forest, we saw a tree that was really twisted. My friends were making fun of it and I felt sorry for the tree, so I said I would have it in my living room at Christmas.
“This is how we got into a discussion about imperfect trees and whether every tree that farmers grow is perfect. We did a bit of research and found out it was just the opposite.”
Where do these imperfect, crooked trees come from?
“After our research, we approached small business and farmers in South Bohemia and we offered to buy these imperfect trees from them. Because they all have such trees that they have to get rid of. So we were decided to offer them to people so as to save them.”
See the rest here.
Author: Ruth Fraňková