URAVU (Indigenous Science and Technology Study Centre), a local voluntary initiative working on bamboo and sustainable village

development together with KABANI integrated these activities into a common programme: "The Bamboo Village", with the objective of sustainable development of the village. The tourism and related income is seen as a supportive income or supplementary income for the community. It hosts a chain of activities linked to bamboo for about 200 families, bamboo and other related activities are sources of livelihood. Tourism has been brought in as one component of the "Bamboo Village" in tune with other larger development priorities of the villagers.

Bamboo Village is not just a tourism project; this initiative aims to sustainably develop the village as a whole. As tourism researchers and campaigners against unsustainable tourism, we realized the need for an alternative to mainstream tourism that benefits people. At Bamboo Village, we want the communities involved to be creative, self-reliant and responsible for their own living conditions and socio-economic

security through active participation in development activities. Organic farming, bamboo handicrafts, food processing units and home stays and tourism activities all fall under the purview of the Bamboo Village. Organic farming and handicrafts ensure sustainable income generation, whereas tourism provides a complementary income source. The investment of the farmers in tourism has been kept to the minimum, since we dont want it to replace agriculture as the main source of livelihood. We also view the conversation of the environment and our natural resources as an integral part of the initiative. The farmers of the village benefit from the tourism aspect of the initiative in many ways. Families offer home stays to visitors. They did not invest anything

major to do this; they use their spare rooms for the guests. The tourists use local taxis and vehicles for transportation. Some village residents have been trained as interpreters. Fourthly, we offer travelers the option of trying traditional food with various families within the village. Therefore, almost all the money spent by travelers remains within the village and there are diverse income opportunities for all residents. Tourism has been facilitated to provide additional income for local people and to help us develop a community fund through which we can provide training and development to village residents, on activities such as food processing, small businesses, etc. We have developed a benefit sharing mechanism among the village residents wherein 50 % of the accommodation charges from the guests go to the

home stay providers, while 30 % of the income goes to the community fund. Other service providers, like taxi owners, also contribute a small amount from their income towards the community fund. There are many challenges that could surface in this initiative. Making it inclusive can be a big challenge. Certain families in the village cannot participate in some of the tourism activities due to a lack of facilities and communication skills. This creates a sort of class issue; the lack of participation and the subsequent differences in benefits may create jealousy among the residents. Also, some activities of the programme get more income than others (for ample like accommodation), creating potential conflicts and affecting their relationship with each other. We havent yet faced anything like this here, but many community tourism experiences around the world show signs of this. Pressure from mainstream tourism is also a challenge. Enhancing the capacity of the villagers and equipping them towards the

requirement of the programme still need lots of resources, and is time consuming. Is tourism the main income for participating families? How do you deal with off-season slow down of arrivals, like during the monsoons or the summer? Considering the unpredictability and vulnerability of the tourism sector, tourism is not visualized as the main income source for the community. The tourismrelated income is seen as a supportive income to compensate for the diminished income levels, during the transformation from the current agricultural practices to organic farming. Most of the people involved in this tourism program are also involved in other income generation activities, so off-season and slow down of arrivals does not affect the participating residents much.

What do you think are the negative effects of a community tourism project like Bamboo Village? Tourism is an activity that touches the life of local communities in many ways. It consumes their culture, lifestyle and natural resources. So the impact of tourism is also expected to be manifold. Bamboo Village is a very small project and it is too early to assess its negative impacts. We take the negative effects of community tourism in case studies very seriously, and try to address these in the orientation programs we organize for the local community. We share our vast experiences as a research and campaign organization working on tourism issues in Kerala and elsewhere, and believe in an approach where people play a central role by deciding, assessing and monitoring the developments and their priorities.

What are some of the steps you have taken or intend to take to deal with these effects? The community fund set up by us is facilitating many income generation and other activities in the village. It provides a feeling of ownership among the residents who are not directly participating or benefiting from the initiative. Have you noticed any differences, negative or positive, in Bamboo Village or its residents since the start of this initiative? The women home stay hosts in the village have some very heartening stories. Many of them feel the initiative has given them a boost in confidence and the opportunity to mingle with different kinds of people from all over the world. They can now communicate in fairly good English, and try to understand the

culture of their guests home country. The cultural exchange makes the women reflect upon their role in the village, and in society in general. This intercultural exchange is equally beneficial to the youth and children in the village. I can also say that the quality of life of the participating families have changed for the better. They are now seeking alternatives in many aspects of life; for instance, many families now practice better waste management and hygiene, and have more respect for the environment.

The mission at Bamboo Village is to preserve a way of life (agriculture-based) in the face of a changing world where local village economies are subject to global economic changes. Much more than that it is

to create something for this area to live sustainably and healthily and to prevent brain drain; to keep young people there, rather than running off to the city to work as a tech customer service representative.

Bamboo is the center. Bamboo is also the symbol. It is sustainable wood grows quickly and easily here (they have over 30 varieties- each used to make different things from incense sticks to construction beams to hangers). Bamboo is essentially a large, strong grass that one can cut and watch regrow. Bamboo is an interesting plant. I happened to be in the area when one common species of Bamboo had just flowered, produced bamboo rice and was in the

process of dying (only to regrow again next year). In this local species, this happens only every 40 years! Uravu sells bamboo crafts within India and demand is high for the quality handmade products. This is only one aspect of the Bamboo Village. The next phase is a large guesthouse (Completion Goal: Dec 2013)being built with you guessed it bamboo. This will house tourists primarily groups and families, however dorms may be available for backpackers. Currently there is a home stay program that Romarie and I enjoyed. We stayed comfortably in Marys families house, experiencing the day to day even the early morning noises from the chickens (one of which we ate for dinner), and even the family scuffles. Half of the cost went to Mary (money is given to the woman of the household, who runs the

homestay), and half is reinvested into the community through Uravu. After the completion of the guesthouse building, visitors will live with additional privacy and space in the forest in a sustainable and eco building. They will eat meals in the homes nearby in order to maintain connections with the villagers. Babaraj explained his vision forwastewater re-use, solar energy, bio-gas collection and new technologies to make this a model for future construction in India. Their next task is to tackle the most visually obvious environmental issue plaguing India plastics. Without a recycling facility (much less a trash collection) people toss unuseables in ditches and then occasionally sweep it up into a pile to burn. That was fine when waste was paper and banana leaves (a common packaging

material), but now cheap plastic is flowing in all corners of the world with no signs of stopping. Uravu plans to organize a trash sorting system in the area and this includes a method to collect send plastic bottles to a recycling center. Uravu has high hopes to make a big difference in this swiftly changing country. The community here, proud of their land and culture, have created a cooperative that generates additional income for farmers, empowers local people through job creation and provides ethical tourism opportunities. Thrikkaipettas Bamboo Village was initiated by local people who are passionate about improving life for the community. It is a community led bamboo nursery, using the materials to create traditional crafts, food products, for environmental protection and as a tourism attraction. Visiting their bamboo workshop is like stepping into Santas grotto! It is

incredible to see so many local people employed, busy creating a huge selection of products. As the Bamboo Village has gone from strength to strength, it became clear that the tourism offer here could be expanded and provide an even greater opportunity for additional income. Local responsible tourism campaigning NGO, Kabani, has partnered with the Bamboo Villages management, Uravu, and the groups pulled together their expertise on agricultural life and how best develop a tourist infrastructure that would offer enriching tourist experiences and improve the lives of local people. Today tourists from across the globe can come and enjoy the Bamboo Villages ethical homestays. Visitors can enjoy a tranquil location with a friendly local family, feast on traditional home cooked food and fruits from their homestays plantation. Guests can also join an eye-opening village tour, learning about the diverse crops growing locally and participating in cultural exchange events.

In addition to the unique learning experiences, guests can rest assured that fifty percent of the money paid for their cozy homestay is being reinvested into the community they have enjoyed getting to know. This money is helping to develop a community fund that provides crucial training for villagers (such as organic farming and healthy living education), youth projects and sustainable tourism development.

More than 1000 women have undergone training at this centre. Micro enterprises for value addition of natural resources and development of products have been established by Uravu for bamboo and coconut shell craft, food products and dry flowers

in and around Kalpetta, Wynadu district who are working with bamboo, craft, furniture, architecture, bags, wowen products, jack fruit

products and now community based tourism development. The first SHG we visited was Neravu. They were making calendar holders while we were visiting. Started about 8 years ago, they initially had 20 people in it which was reduced to 9 at present. The women left for various reasons like marriage and bamboo dust allergies. They told us that they were not able to experiment with bamboo as orders would come in one after the other, leaving them with no time for anything else. The next was Unarvu, an SHG that specialised in making jewellery. They started with 18 and reduced to 12. The bamboo that they were using was not provided by Uravu but was collected by them and the men. They used elephant bamboo

and cut and polished them to make beads that they painted. They asked us for new designs and were very happy when we provided some in a notebook they had. A few of us also decorated a few beads. I notice that the women were very happy with what they were doing but they needed new and fresh designs rather than recycled ones. For inspiration they consult magazines and watch TV programs. The third SHG was Sneha and they started 4 years ago. Around 15 people work there and they were trained for new orders when they came in for around a week. They were making photo frames when we visited. We also learnt that waste from one group was taken to another where they can be put to use. The next group was Soubaghya and they started

4 years ago with 20 people now reduced to 14. We saw them working with saws and not much else as they were wrapping up for the day. When asked they told us that they were insured by the panchayat. We found that among the self-help groups each of them were being paid about 125-180 rupees per day. They were also depositing a fixed amount of money in the South Malabar Gramine bank which acted as a security from which they could withdraw money without the need for collateral. The work timings were almost the same, 7 hours per day. They were also provided with masks and mufflers to protect them from the dust. Most of their children sre educated till the 12 standard and on askinf, we found out that
th

they were not interested in working with bamboo.

The trainers from Uravu themselves are local people who underwent proper training in making bamboo products from universities like CBTC (Cane and bamboo training center), NID (National Institute of design), IIT Mumbai. So through this collaboration program and the support of Government rural development programs, they have set up 25 micro enterprises in the district of Wayanad district so far. Uravu in connection with EXIM (Export Import Bank of India), Nabad (National Bank for Agricultural and Rural Development), and MSME (Micro small medium enterprises) gives training and thus being the root cause for setting up these Micro Enterprises.