Now experience ‘Home Sweet Home’ at Kumbalangi


KOCHI: Having turned itself into a model tourism village, Kumbalangi is toying with the idea of setting up homesteads. Kumbalangi tourism village has already received international acclaim for its serene beauty and agrarian lifestyle. Broadly defined, homesteading is a lifestyle of simple self-sufficiency.
“Setting up of homesteads is proposed under the project ‘Sustainable Agri-village’,” said Kumbalangi Model Tourism Society president M P Sivdathan. “Homesteads is a concept jointly supported by the Department of Agriculture and the grama panchayat. The plan is to set up 100 homesteads in Kumbalangi before the next tourism season,” he added. He said that existing homes will be developed into homesteads.
“The plan is to familiarise tourists with the agrarian way of life. A tourist who is brought to a homestead will be provided with ethnic food. He is also allowed to take part in the preparation of the food. The food will be prepared with rice, vegetables and fruits which are organically produced in Kumbalangi,” he said. Apart from familiarising tourists with the rural life, the concept of homesteads also offer a means of income for local people who are ready to operate homesteads. We have tied up with some travel agencies for including the ‘Kumbalangi experience’ while marketing their tour packages,” he said.
Experience in homestead will be beneficial to tourists who have a short stay in Kochi, especially for those who reach Kochi on cruise vessels. They need not stay in Kumbalangi to experience the rural life. It is to be noted that Cochin Port Trust is among the ports that registers the highest numbers of calls from cruise vessels in India. Tourists on cruise vessels are already visiting Kumbalangi and the number is on the rise every season,” Sivadathan said.

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