Lessons from the backwaters

Arundhati Roy’s booker prize winning novel, The God of Small Things, was set here. Then, in December 2000, its idyllic setting created waves as the inspiration behind the ruminations of the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. And its beauty is one of the reasons that prompted former Beatle Sir Paul McCartney to remark: “Yes, truly; Kerala is God’s own country,” on his 14-day incognito trip across the state in 2002. We are talking about Kumarakom— situated on the eastern coast of the Vembanad Lake, the largest backwater in Kerala.

Its multiple trysts, both physical and literary, with celebrities carried Kumarakom from the boondocks into the limelight in the matter of a decade—till it hit a rough patch a couple of years ago. Why? Many locals, predominantly farm labourers, lost their livelihoods following the acquisition of land for building resorts. Then, the proliferating numbers of houseboats polluted the backwaters, affecting the breeding of fish, especially the famed Karimeen (pearlspotted fish).

Thus, fishing, the other source of livelihood for the local population, was also affected. Tensions simmered under the surface and mistrust ruled high. “Local people had no stake in the tourism industry. It offered them no direct or indirect benefit. Hotels were unwilling to employ them as they lacked the required expertise,’’ recalls G.C. Damodaran, President, Kumarakom Panchayat, which has 5,000 households and covers a population of 25,000.

The situation could have turned ugly, but by a propitious coincidence, Kerala Tourism’s “Responsible Tourism (RT)” programme—to involve the local community in the tourism boom—was gathering pace around that time, and Kumarakom was among the destinations in which it was tested. The programme focussed on economic and social uplift of local populations and environmental regeneration. Kovalam, Kumily (Thekkady) and Wayanad were the three other locations selected for the pilot project. But to succeed it needed buy-ins from both the local community as well as the tourism industry.

The local link
To do that, however, Kerala Tourism had to find ways of linking the locals to the tourism sector. This is where the Kumarakom Panchayat played a crucial role. It organised a meeting of all the stakeholders, comprising local people, representatives of resort, Kudumbashree self-help groups etc., in December 2007 and set the ball rolling. “For their part, the villagers offered to supply the hotels and resorts their entire requirement of vegetables and handicrafts. Though the hotels were apprehensive about quality and the ability of the local people to meet their needs, the panchayat decided to give it a try,” says Damodaran.

Here, the strong presence of selfhelp groups in the region was a distinct advantage—300 activity groups were quickly formed, each comprising five women, one from each family. The panchayat and Kerala Tourism jointly conducted surveys among the hotels to estimate the types and quantities of vegetables required. From this, a list of vegetables that could be grown in Kumarakom was identified and each activity group was given one vegetable to grow. “That apart, the panchayat helped these activity groups get land on lease to cultivate the vegetables, supplied seeds and finalised a cultivation calendar to ensure adequate and regular supplies of vegetables,” says Rupeshkumar K., Responsible Tourism Coordinator for Kumarakom.

Simultaneously, a procurement and distribution group, Samrudhi (prosperity in Malayalam), was formed to procure vegetables from farmers and supply them to the hotels. The cultivation of these vegetables began in January 2008. On March 14, 2008, (the day Responsible Tourism was formally launched) agreements were inked between the locals and 19 hotels. The first supplies commenced on March 18.

Teething troubles
The project ran into difficulties as quality issues flared up within days. “People thought we would buy whatever they produced, irrespective of quality, but we have to adhere to certain standards,’’ says Neelakantan D., General Manager, Kumarakom Lake Resorts, which is the largest buyer of vegetables under RT. To address this issue and that of pricing, two committees were set up with representatives from all stakeholders. The quality committee, in fact, even had representation from chefs at various resorts. These committees meet once a month and address all issues pertaining to pricing and quality. “It is these two committees that gave a fillip to RT and without them, the concept would have failed in Kumarakom,’’ says Rupeshkumar. Based on the feedback from the quality committee, measures were taken, with the help of the Kerala Agricultural University in Trichur and the state Fisheries Department in Kochi, to train farmers and fishermen in best practices.

Over the next two months, quality improved; so did purchases, which increased from Rs 34,369 in March 2008 to Rs 61,200 in May 2008. In August (the off season), it stood at Rs 51,855. “Today, all the requirements of the hotels are met locally and there are hardly any quality issues,” says Damodaran.

It’s a win-win situation for the hotels as well as the villagers. The 1,500 families involved in the initiative earn at least Rs 1,500 per month from this activity alone. “We are now in the process of expanding the list to include meat, fishes and milk. Processing facilities for these have been put up and supplies will commence from October 1,” says Damodaran. RT also addresses other issues. BT came across a special market, set up as a part of the programme, for three days during the Onam festival in early September to provide locals with reasonably-priced vegetables produced by activity groups.

The seamless model
mosimage} Six months into the initiative, all the hotels in Kumarakom are involved in RT. Says Rex Julious, President of the Chamber of Vembanad Hotels & Resorts: “The mistrust has disappeared and today, we are one family.” Those aren’t empty words. Local hotels, as a part of the social aspect of RT, have funded the purchase of land worth Rs 11.28 lakh for setting up a water purification project that will augment water supply to Kumarakom, which faces a perennial shortage of drinking water. On the environmental side, a sewage treatment facility will soon be commissioned for the houseboats to discharge their waste.

The massive growth of weeds on the Vembanad lake may well pose the next big challenge. “We initially focussed on the economic aspect so that people could get tangible benefits from RT. Now, we will focus more sharply on the social and environment side,’’ says M. Sivasankar, Director, Kerala Tourism. He is planning to roll out RT across the state after studying the outcome of this and the other pilot projects. Meanwhile in Kumarakom, the constant friction between the locals and the tourism industry is a thing of the past. Tourism is no longer alien to the locals; it has become a way of life.