Sathi Murali from Kumarakom, a responsible tourism (RT) destination in Kerala, was busy braiding coconut fronds, while Soudamini and Valsala were busy weaving a mundu the traditional way in a loom.
They had lost their loom in the recent floods that hit Chendamangalam. Nearby was a man pedalling an irrigation wheel, while a person from a tribal heartland was taking aim with his bow and arrow. A microcosm of Kerala’s rural life is on show at the Kerala Travel Mart (KTM) which Willingdon Island in Kochi is playing host to till Sunday.
On Thursday, responsible tourism initiatives yet again brought accolades for Kerala, in the form of an award at the National Tourism Awards presented in New Delhi.
“Sight-seeing alone cannot help Kerala tourism thrive in the long run. We need to show visitors to our State our ethnic diversity. Tourists are curious to know more about the local populace — how they live, what they earn for a living, etc.,” says Rupeshkumar K, coordinator of State RT Mission.
Sitting on the veranda of a thatched hut, Sathi Murali braids a coconut frond with practised ease. She has been doing this for four decades, since the age of 15. “For the past decade, RT keeps bringing tourists to my house. They are eager to know how we lock the palm leaves; many would sit with me and try it themselves. It takes me barely ten minutes to plait a palm leaf. My visitors take half-an-hour to do so. It’s fun, and money-earning too.” Ms Murali says she sells the braided palm-leaves to her customers that also include restaurants. “We charge ₹10 a piece. The product usually lasts a year.”
Ajitha Suresh, too from Kumarakom, spoke of how tourists are fond of watching toddy tapping, coir and mat making, tying set mundu, even climbing of coconut trees and grinding of 'chammanthi' using stone.
Up north from Malabar, the thrust region of KTM-2018, came Kochangode Govindan, holding a bow and arrow used traditionally for hunting, much to the fascination of delegates.
Chekutty dolls
A few hundred Chekutty dolls, which have become a beacon of resilience of flood-hit handloom weavers of Chendamangalam in North Paravur, adorn a stall nearby, becoming the cynosure of eyes of delegates from within and outside India.
Each hand-made doll is made from handloom sarees made at weaving units in Chendamangalam that were soiled in unprecedented floods that hit the State in August. All that goes into the making of each doll is a six-inch round piece of cloth cut from sarees that were soiled in the floods.
Attaching the dolls to hand bags or clothes has become a style statement, especially among Keralites across the world, said social entrepreneur Lakshmi Menon.