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After my first trip here, my perspective about tourism
changed altogether.
Heaven.
Heavenly life here.
Natural and organic.
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Kerala is a state which is promoting tourism
as a development option, under the notion that this
can attract foreign exchange.
This can bring employment opportunities for the people
here.
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In reality, unregulated tourism promotion
is causing a lot of problems, like environmental pollution.
People are getting displaced by tourism projects.
There are some big resorts, of which
we don't know how much of that income or whatever development
is happening goes back to the community there.
Hardly any.
But here, the whole concept is different.
It's mutually beneficial.
Travelers are getting benefited out of it,
and so are the whole of the community.
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An organization like Kabani, we're
trying to have a comprehensive approach of oppose and propose.
On the one hand, we are trying to oppose
a bad model of tourism, which is detrimental to the environment,
and communities, and livelihood and all.
But on the other hand, we are also
trying to propose a better model of tourism which
involves local communities.
And most of the benefits goes to them
in various parts of the country.
So when you travel with us, you are part of a transformation
process.
OK.
You take this.
It's like an exchange offer, actually.
An exchange of language, skills, and culture.
Totally, we are sharing life.
I arrived yesterday, and I was welcomed with open arms.
And last night, we all had dinner together.
And they're just going about their normal day.
They stay here like they would stay at their own homes.
Mary, she is our first homestay provider.
The courage that she had to start a homestay at that time,
it was incredible.
When the first guest came, I was anxious.
I didn't know how I would manage to make it work.
The experience that she shares now,
with other homestay providers, it
gives them lots of confidence.
They were asking, how about language?
How do you communicate with them?
I kept on practicing and hosting.
It felt really good.
That's how I got confidence, by just practicing.
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Be careful.
There was a serious agrarian crisis here,
which was really devastating.
A lot of crops were destroyed by climate change.
I think more than 10 or 15 people committed suicide
in our village, due to this crisis.
So in this time, the organization
Kabani came forward and they said, "how can we save
the people in the village?"
So this is the thing I liked.
I agreed to join Kabani.
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Before Kabani, the farmers did not
have another option rather than agriculture.
They did not have enough money to send their children
to higher education, and so on.
But now, they have travelers coming here,
and they are contributing to their economy.
And they're contributing to their own level
of different growth.
If you have a passion and you can meet people
with similar passions when you're traveling, then
of course, that's amazing because you
can learn from those people and start
to see your own passion or industry
from a different perspective.
We've met so many beautiful local people.
They're so caring and so compassionate.
One family member will take us to pottery.
Another one will be guiding us around the town.
Lots of different experiences.
So you really feel like you connect when you're
here and traveling in this way.
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Ultimately, you're dealing with communities
like farmers, women, and other local communities.
Otherwise, they are not in tourism.
So our role is basically bringing them
into sustainable tourism, which is a very long-term activity.
You cannot expect results tomorrow.
We had around six or seven ladies
who are going to be a part of this homestay
here in Makaramkottu Illan.
They are normally housewives.
So we have given them a part-time job
or a full-time job, wherein they get a chance to meet
the people outside.
They go to see the world outside.
We had little roleplays and games through which we
could build confidence in them.
When you have guests coming, when you interact with them,
when you share your experience and they
share their experience, it all empowers women.
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Expression is different.
The women must meet and rehearse quite regularly,
where they get together, and they had all their little kids
there.
And all the other women were laughing
and having a great old time.
Working with the team at World Nomads,
it's been quite humbling to see another side of travel.
A kind of travel where we can give back
to the people and the communities that we visit.
When people buy insurance with World Nomads,
there's technology on the website
that enables people to choose to make a small donation.
They can choose the amount, and they can
choose where the money goes.
The money has been raised and given
to the village of Mothakkara, where
there's a whole bunch of different training
initiatives taking place.
The people who are involved in this program changed a lot.
They are reaching into a level of self-fulfillment,
and a spiritual level of their life.
I've been working a lot in many parts of the world,
setting up community tourism programs.
But doing something similar in your village is very special
and, of course, it is also a bit emotional.
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We can learn from each and every guest.
In the future, I think I would like more travelers to come.
I think I like.
My grandfather used to tell me a lot of stories about Gandhi,
and how he changed certain practices in India.
In my life also, that's my dream.
We would really like to inspire other communities
all over the world with this experience.
And that is something Kabani is dreaming for the future.
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