Women’s power through responsible tourism at Kumarakom

Responsible tourism is taking over Kumarakom, a tourists’ paradise just 14 kms from Kottayam in Kerala. Remember, the-then Prime Minister A.B.Vajpayee had a few days’ rest and relaxation at Kumarakom. He had prepared his Kumarakom Musings during this cooling-off period.

One way, women power is taking over Kumarakom, flanking the Vembanad lake,
criss-crossed by house-boats, and bestowed with the nature’s bounty in the form of the birds’ sanctuary and the serenity of stretches of paddy fields.

Women’s participation got ensured as responsible tourism was launched under the aegis of Kudumbashree Mission. In Kumarakom, nearly 750 women have come forward to offer their services. The hotels in Kumarakom would serve tourists with the items supplied by these women, in the first instance. Vegetables, fish, milk, meat, eggs, and rice would be supplied to the hotels by these enterprising women. Fifteen hotels have entered into an agreement with the women’s groups.

The panchayat has found fields for the women to undertake cultivation of vegetable items.Dairy units are also being set up. There would be 32 units with two cows each in one unit. They have been given training as well. Water melons, cabbage, beet-root, carrot and such other items would be fetched from the Kudumbashree units in Idukki district.

Tourists would be taken for sight-seeing to the sites where vegetables are grown and cows are raised.

Later, an open market for sale of produce from the Kudumbashree units would be set up.

Kovalam and Thekkady are also finding a place in the coverage of responsible tourism.

An international team is visiting Kumarakom to take stock of the responsible tourism project. Such projects have been successfully undertaken in South Africa, Spain and Newzealand, with the difference that the efforts there have been private ventures.—O J