In 2023, Dr Mosae founded the Green Bangle Movement (GBM), a joint reforestation initiative involving Bangladesh government that aims to plant 10,000 Palmyra palms and 20,000 mangroves along the coasts of Sitakunda upazila (sub-district) in Chittagong.
Upon his arrival in Chittagong, a south-eastern coastal city in Bangladesh, all the way from India’s Chennai in mid-2019, Dr Mosae Paulraj Selvakumar had little idea of how deeply he would appreciate the Palmyra palm’s role in South Asian culture and environmental resilience.
Starting to teach at the Asian University for Women (AUW) in Bangladesh’s second largest city, he encountered the palm, known locally as “taal gachh,” in the verses of Bengali poets like Rabindranath Tagore and Khan Mohammad Moinuddin.
The poetic allusions reminded Dr Mosae of the time a Palmyra tree had protected him from a lightning strike back home, inspiring him to channel his passion for environmental science into championing this remarkable tree.

The Palmyra palm’s role in both ecosystems and rural livelihoods quickly became the focus of his work at the AUW.
When the university sought to create a natural boundary for its main campus in 2019, Dr Mosae proposed a bio-fence using Palmyra palms.
Bio-fencings are lines of trees or shrubs planted on farm or field boundaries that provide protection against cattle and wildlife, act as windbreaks, control soil erosion, provide bee forage and shade
His team consists of Dr. Kabir, many faculty and 75 students planted 4,000 seeds around the campus, which would not only create a green barrier but become a long-term ecological and educational resource for the community. The bio-fence received widespread support, ultimately leading the researcher to establish a student-led Palmyra culture research group to further explore the tree’s potential.
Pioneering ‘Palmyraculture’
Through this work, Dr Mosae coined the term “Palmyraculture” to describe the cultivation and utilization of Palmyra palms to support biodiversity, sustainable development, and rural economies.
The Palmyra is a low-maintenance plant, requiring minimal water and thriving in adverse conditions. Its leaves, trunk, fruits, and roots can be used to create food, fibers, building materials, and eco-friendly alternatives to plastics. The Palmyra’s root system stabilizes shorelines and prevents soil erosion, making it invaluable in coastal areas.

Dr Mosae thinks Palmyraculture is a sustainable pathway for local communities.
Farmers and artisans could use the Palmyra palm plants to supplement their income, crafting products from the tree’s leaves and fibers and processing its sap into sweeteners like jaggery.
His research group explored the Nutraceutical potential of the plant as it offered antioxidant, fluorescent and wound-healing properties and results indicated that certain compounds in Palmyra could inhibit cancer and even COVID-19 enzymes.
Under his mentorship, students developed Palmyra-based products like soap bars, creams, and health supplements, earning awards and recognition at international symposiums. Two student team-led startups based on Palmyra products even reached the finals in the HULT PRIZE (AUW on-campus round), highlighting the tree’s sustainable development promise.
Honouring Palmyra tappers, artisans
Central to Dr Mosae’s vision are the Palmyra tappers and artisans whose work keeps traditional knowledge alive. These skilled individuals, whom Dr Mosae calls “Palmyra warriors,” perform demanding labour.
Climbing the tree to extract sap requires not only strength but a chemist’s precision, as each step—from choosing the location of the tap to adjusting for weather and season—affects the sap’s quality. The tappers carefully treat the sap with an alkaline solution to preserve it as palm juice or ferment it into “toddy,” a nutritious, probiotic beverage.

To protect these traditions, the Palmyraculture team conducted training sessions and demonstrations, introducing climbing devices that make tapping safer and more accessible to younger generations. The team also works with female artisans who create handicrafts from the tree’s fibers, offering workshops to help them sustain their livelihoods.
Dr Mosae’s efforts aim to elevate Palmyra’s significance across Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka and Asia promoting it as a low-cost, high-yield crop for small farmers.
Usage of Palmyra
Dr Mosae advocates for the Palmyra as a powerful tool in sustainable development. Its sugar, which has a low glycemic index, is a healthier alternative to refined sugar. Meanwhile, palmyra toddy/wine (tari) has commercial potential, and the palm’s durable leaves offer an eco-friendly substitute for plastic products. Dr. Mosae’s initiatives promote Palmyra for mixed cropping, a strategy that allows farmers to grow other crops alongside the palms, maximizing land use and income. His vision includes a business model in which Palmyra becomes a cornerstone for sustainable production of sugar, alcohol, and biodegradable items in low-income regions.
Making Palmyraculture engaging and accessible
To sustain interest in Palmyraculture, Dr. Mosae and his team have developed creative, hands-on activities. One project involved creating an interactive periodic table from Palmyra leaves, with each element symbol and atomic number displayed on leaf-made cue cards. The display not only taught students chemistry but also showcased Palmyra’s versatility in educational settings.

The team has also organised workshops, seminars, and festivals. The Palmyra Fruit Festival is a highlight, showcasing fruit-based snacks, clothing, and merchandise created by students from 19 Asian countries. With local media coverage, the event attracted visitors from prominent research institutions, mostly government entities.
Earlier collaborations with Sri Lanka’s Palmyrah Development Board helped bring the Palmyraculture initiative to international attention, connecting scientists, environmentalists, and policymakers across borders. This cross-regional interest in Palmyra has inspired him to envision a movement that bridges communities through sustainable development.
Move to plant 10,000 palm trees
In 2023, Dr Mosae founded the Green Bangle Movement (GBM), a joint reforestation initiative involving Bangladesh government that aims to plant 10,000 Palmyra palms and 20,000 mangroves along the coasts of Sitakunda upazila (sub-district) in Chittagong.
By employing and training coastal women as caretakers, GBM empowers them to become “ecopreneurs” (eco-friendly entrepreneurs who benefit from sustainable employment).
This ecofeminist approach aligns with Dr. Mosae’s mission of environmental and social resilience.

Ecofeminism is a political and intellectual movement that combines feminism and environmentalism. It argues that the oppression of women and the degradation of the environment are interconnected and result from patriarchal and capitalist systems.
Alongside tree planting, the Green Bangle Nursery promotes agriculture among students, who learn about nurturing saplings and sustainable land practices. Inspired by movements like the Green Belt and Chipko, Dr. Mosae envisions the Green Bangle Movement as a global initiative advocating for conservation and tree planting.
The Talraj title
At a seminar in Bangladesh Sugar Crop Research Institute, Dr. Mosae’s passion for Palmyra earned him the nickname “Talraj” (the lord of Palmyra palms).
The name resembles Dr. Mosae’s philosophy of “living like Palmyrah.”
For him, the tree’s attributes are a model for resilience and self-sufficiency. Growing tall and straight, the Palmyra palm tree has a deep root system that stabilizes the soil and an upright structure that allows surrounding plants to receive sunlight. This simplicity, coupled with a capacity to thrive without much water or fertilizer, makes it a symbol of balanced living.

One of his research group’s studies explored the “altruism” of Palmyra by planting other species nearby. Plants grown close to Palmyra palms were healthier than those planted farther away, likely due to nutrients shared by the tree’s fibrous roots.
Dr Mosae believes that if people embraced the principles of Palmyra —strength, resilience, and shared growth— society could foster a more sustainable and cooperative future.
Bigger Palmyra palm dreams
Dr Mosae’s fascination with Palmyra has roots in Tamil culture and literature, from Thala Vilasam, a Tamil book listing 801 uses of the tree, to the Tamil Sangam era, which immortalised it in poetry and ritual.
The Palmyra palm tree is the official tree of Tamil Nadu, whose capital is Chennai.
Tamil Nadu’s temples, like Thiruppanaiyur, and even Angkor Wat in Cambodia hold the Palmyra as a sacred tree, a testament to its cultural significance across Asia. In some villages in Srilanka, Palmyra palms are planted along roads to prevent human-elephant conflicts, underscoring its role in community welfare.

With dreams of a Palmyra revolution, Dr Mosae hopes to plant 100 million Palmyra palms in Asia’s drylands and coastal areas. His homestead, which he has named “Palmyra Oasis,” serves as a model, with thousands of palms growing along the lakesides of his native Kadayam village in Tamil Nadu.
As a Environmental chemist, nature advocate, and Director of Environmental Sciences program at AUW, Dr Mosae believes in mutualism—the idea that human and environmental health are intertwined, as seen in the Palmyra’s nurturing presence across Asia.
Recognised in places like Jaffna, Sri Lanka, as the city emblem and celebrated as Cambodia’s national tree, the Palmyra palm is part of a natural “palm route” extending from Africa to the Philippines.
This botanical link unites continents, bridging ecological and cultural divides. In his work, Dr Mosae uses Palmyraculture as a means to connect people and foster a healthier planet, one Palmyra tree at a time.