Whenever Kerala is mentioned, one imagines tranquil waters lined with coconut trees and slow village life. Well, Kumarakom is exactly this! The small sleepy village of Kumarakom is nestled on the banks of the largest freshwater lake in Kerala ans is home to the backwaters, the Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary, agriculture, boating and fishing facilities. It only made sense to start Responsible Tourism in Kumarakom.

Responsible tourism in Kumarakom: The beginning

Kumarakom was declared a Special Tourism Zone by the Government of Kerala in 2005. In May 2007, the first destination level meeting was held and the Destination Level Responsible Tourism Committee and three working groups on economic, environmental and social levels were formed. The official inauguration of Responsible Tourism in Kumarakom happened in March 2008 and it was the Kumarakom Gram Panchayat that initiated the implementation of Responsible Tourism at Kumarakom.

The advantage of experiencing village life with the locals is the economic, social and environmental sustainability with minimum negative impact. I experienced Community based tourism at Baradpani in Gujarat and I am so glad rural tourism is happening in other parts of India and here to stay!

How to book a Responsible Tourism Tour in Kumarakom?

Tickets can be purchased from the Responsible Tourism Office Kumarakom near the Kavanatinkara jetty. However, due to less influx of tourists post covid, the office is closed. The tour can be arranged by placing a request on this email id: rt@keralatourism.org / dc.rtkumarakom@gmail.com

There are two packages to choose from while in Kumarakom so do not forget to mention which one you want to go for – 

• A day with farmers
• Beyond the backwaters

Where does the tour begin and its duration?

The journey begins from the picturesque Kavanatinkara jetty. A Shikara boat transfers the visitors from the jetty into the narrow backwaters of Kumarakom. A local guide is allotted to each group who briefs the visitors about the Kumarakom backwaters, the landscape, the lush green surroundings, cuisine and wildlife.

Activities under Responsible Tourism in Kumarakom

‘Welcome to Kumarakom’ said Sabu our Responsible Tourism in Kumarakom guide as we walked to our designated Shikara ride. It was interesting to see all the Shikara boats neatly parked on the backwater rocking against each other with the waves of the passerby boat’s motor. It took some direction giving and juggling to get the boat out in the main channel from its parking spot. Once out, we were on our way to the Kumarakom village.

Sabu told us all about the backwaters and how village life was normal in spite of the covid outbreak. We passed the typical village life – men cleaning their boats, women washing the utensils on the bank, ducks feeding in the water and the normal boat traffic along the channel. It certainly reminded me of my trip to Backwaters of Alleppey.

As the broad water channel narrowed a bit, we came across a small section where there was abundant lotus blooming. Sabu bent from the boat and caught hold of a pink lotus and said ‘Let me make a necklace for you’. 

Surprised and curious about how a necklace would be made from a flower we held on tight to our phone video-graphing him while he went about making sections in the lotus stem giving it a beautiful pattern. He pulled out some what seemed like strings from the end of the lotus stem and knotted them together. And voila it really was a beautiful necklace.

As we pondered over his amazing necklace making technique, we reach our first activity place.

Coconut coir making 

Coconut is such a versatile tree and Kerala knows how to best utilise it. From using its fruit for water, and coconut shell in making handicrafts, to using its stem for deriving an alcoholic drink, using its trunk as timber to make houses and boats, and its leaves in making thatched roofs and baskets. 

We arrived at Ajitha’s house who demonstrated how she is utilizing the choirs in making ropes. Coconut coir is made using the coconut husk that is abundantly available here. While she had the raw material ready for us, she draped herself in a checkered skirt locally known as lungi and worn by men and made a kangaroo-like pouch where she kept the coir.

She then put the coir in a small motor run machine and the rope just started forming as she kept feeding more coir and playing a small tug of war with it.

In order to demonstrate how it was traditionally done, she placed herself on a mat on the ground and manually started rolling the coir until a rope was formed. That certainly took a lot of time and it made the hands rough due to the coconut fibres.

Some of my group members tried their hands on this and enjoyed themselves.

Natural shampoo making

The locals have been extremely self-sufficient and rely on garden supplies for everything. Be it fruits and vegetables from the kitchen garden to the fresh fish catch right outside the house, from herbal plants to cure diseases to plants that help in cleaning your hair. 

Sabu walked to the fence of the house and plucked some leaves. He placed them in a bowl with some water and started gently crushing them. Soon enough, foam started forming! It was hibiscus leaves, a plant that readily grows across India. Forget about going to the market and buying chemical-laden shampoo in a plastic bottle!

Coconut tree climbing

As we walked in Ajitha’s kitchen garden which was laden with fruit trees such as jackfruit, passionfruit, papaya, mango, banana and more, we reached some tall coconut trees.

Sabu explained how it was an arduous task to climb coconut trees in the olden times and it required skill and practice to climb them. However, with new technology, there is coconut tree climber equipment that makes the task easy, safe and quick. As Sabu demonstrated the new equipment he mentioned how women are also climbing these trees. Talk about women empowerment! 🙂

Fishing in Kumarakom

We came out of Ajitha’s house after tasking some delicious fruits from her kitchen garden, crossed the road and reached the water canal. Sabu came with a fish net to demonstrate how the local fishermen catch fish.

A big swing and the net went into the water. A few moments later it was pulled out and 2 small fishes were trying hard to breathe. They were safely returned back to the water.

Next, we walked to Sathi’s house to check out the weaving process.

Weaving coconut leaves

As soon as Sathi saw us walking into the compound of her house, she placed a mat for herself, made herself comfortable and pulled some a dried coconut branch. She then carefully started braiding the leaves to form a pattern.

In yesteryears, before the advent of brick, mortar and cement, houses here were made with mud and thatched roof made of weaves of coconut leaves or palm leaves. This kept the house cool and due to the abundant availability in the garden, it could be easily changed when required.

The weaved leaves are now used in ornamenting cafes, or weaving baskets.

I tried my hand on this and kept forgetting the braids. But Sathi was patient enough and taught me well till I could weave without any mistake.

Toddy Tapping

As we walked to another house overlooking the paddy fields, a kingfisher’s call made the heads turn. Two men clad in lungi were busy in their conversation. One of them hung a terracotta pot around his waist and quickly climbed the adjacent coconut tree. This was a shorter tree than the one we previously saw at Ajitha’s house.

The process of making toddy, an alcoholic beverage, begins at the top of a coconut tree, where a toddy tapper climbs to gather the sap. A new unopened bud of coconut flower is cut with a knife leaving 95% on the tree. The whole bud is then beaten and pounded with a hammer, bud gets swollen. The cut bud is bound with a tender coconut leaf or a rope ahead of the cut part, and a paste of taali leaf or clay is applied to the cut portion. This keeps bacterial infection away and makes the bud ooze sap, not allowing it to go dry and heal. The clay helps in extracting more toddy and it smells and tastes different.

After beating the new flower bud for a week the flower begins to ooze sap which can be collected twice daily. The same steps are repeatedly daily– cutting, beating, taali leaf paste application.

We saw the toddy tapping in Kumarakom and the tapper collected fresh toddy which we tried. The fragrance was very strong and it felt like an alcoholic drink. But after tasting it, it wasn’t alcoholic and tasted interesting.

With this, 2 hours of Responsible Tourism in Kumarakom activity came to an end. We had to go back to our Shikara boat and back to the hotel.

FAQs about Village Life Experience at Kumarakom

Is Responsible Tourism happening only in Kumarakom, Kerala?

Four destinations in Kerala – Kumarakom, Thekkady, Kovalam and Vythiri were the pilot destinations where Responsible Tourism in Kerala was experimented. It served as a model for the entire country and due to its success, three more destinations – Kumbalangi, Ambalavayal and Bekal were added.

How do the locals benefit from responsible tourism activities?

95% cost received from the ticket money is distributed among all the village stakeholders. This encourages the conservation of natural and cultural heritage and motivates the locals to continue their traditional practices.

Has Kumarakom won any awards for its responsible tourism initiative?

Yes, all the seven responsible tourism villages have won several awards including Kumarakom. Kumarakom Responsible Tourism Project has won UNWTO Ulysses Award for Innovation in Public Policy and Governance, PATA Gold and Grand and several other national awards. 

Read More Kerala Posts here

• Kerala Travel Guide
• Trekking in Munnar
• Things to do in Munnar
• Places to visit in Thekkady
• Human by Nature
• Places to visit in Cherai
• Glamping in Munnar, Kerala
• Things to do in Thiruvananthapuram

Disclosure: I was invited by Kerala Travel Mart (KTM) and Kerala Tourism to explore Kerala. However, all opinions in this post are unbiased and of my own.

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