Chris and I went to Kumbalangi, a village in central Kerala, to observe the activities of the local people. We first went by bus and then on a canoe trip on the backwaters. We had learned about these in one of Robert Bradnock's excellent lectures. These backwaters run for about 150 miles just inside the coastal strip and have been created from the monsoon rains running off the high Western Ghats, running down the Western side of the Indian Peninsular.
From our canoe, our guide, Jipin, told us about Toddy (Palm wine) tapping. The tips of the flowers of coconut palms are cut off before blooming and bowls left underneath to collect the liquid, which rises up from the roots to the top of the tree. That is collected twice a day and we had a demonstration of a villager climbing up and collecting more than a litre, which we sampled - in fact fairly tasteless!
Throughout our tour of the village activities we learned how there is little of the coconut palm tree which is not used in some way. The coconuts are cut...
...to provide drink...
...the nut is grated to provide food products...
...the shells are exported to make ice cream bowls...
...the fibres are beaten and converted into matts and ropes.
The leaves are used for making brushes...
...baskets...
...plaited to make roofing and...
....apparently the wood makes very good furniture and polishes up with an attractive grain.
What more can be produced from one tree?
In addition we had demonstrations of fishing...
...crab farming...
...clam processing...
...and making biddis (the local hand rolled cigarette)....
....enjoyed by one of our party.
Our visit to the village finished with a folklore dance by young Muslim girls (seen here with a Chinese fishing rig behind) followed by lunch in the gardens.
Robert Cole
No comments:
Post a Comment