Under the trees, doing nothing

Farm tourism in the State is fast opening up a new landscape for the discerning traveller

November 23, 2014 05:50 pm | Updated 05:50 pm IST - Kochi

At Harvest Fresh Farm, Thekkady

At Harvest Fresh Farm, Thekkady

Anu Mathew says in all seriousness, “people come here to do nothing”.She is speaking about the guests who arrive at her farm, Philipkutty’s Farm, near Kumarakom. This Italian concept of doing nothing or the sweetness of doing nothing, dolce far niente , and now a favoured word with holidayers is apt for guests reaching out for farm stays. Anu is bang on in her assessment about the lover of farm holidays. And Kerala with its rural hinterland offers the interested a variety of farms to choose from. If a guest wishes to do nothing or if he/she wishes to indulge in rustic farming — sowing, harvesting, tilling, picking, milking - or any typical farm activities he can do so; he can also study varied patterns of farming; he can also study the tropics. Farm tourism presents a landscape that recharges the traveller differently.

Sejoe Jose, of Marvel Travels, who has been watching the changing profile of the traveller to Kerala says, “People are looking for newer experiences and a stay in the farm opens up an entirely new vista. Kerala has plenty to offer on this front and we need to project this market.”

“It is definitely not mainstream but works extremely well when thrown into an itinerary” says Maneesha Panicker of Silk Route Escapes, who charts bespoke holidays. She recently had an enquiry from an Australian group that wished to visit organic farms in the State, in a bid to study the farming patterns. She has had guests who have engaged in below sea level paddy cultivation in Kuttanad and done traditional fishing here.

Away from some of the typical agricultural activities is Kurian Jose’s farm Harvest Fresh at Lowercamp in Cumbum Valley. In its fifth year the 35 acre property is a fruit farm with a mix of pomegranate, papaya, mango, passion fruit, tender coconut, jackfruit and some spices. It has a well-laid out vegetable and herb garden and the food in the kitchen is made from garden fresh products. To give the guests a complete rural feel he has curated a farm experience, Fruit Trail that offers a bullock ride, bee cultivation know-how and a visit to neighbouring plantations. Harvest Fresh farms have the vantage of being near Thekkady and places of historical importance like Lord Pennycuick’s Mullaperiyar Dam. Kurian says, “Farm tourism is not as much about commerce as about experience. The people who opt for it are looking for something different. It is not resort type. We don’t have those facilities but the fact that there are many enquiries is proof that people are keen to connect with Nature. Harvest Fresh is Indocert certified and guests are curious about organic lifestyle.”

Thampi and Geeta run their four-acre farm, Thomaschettan’s Farm, near Kolenchery. What makes their farm unique is the agricultural practice they follow, which is done on Cosmic Rhythms based on the Panchangam . “It is Vedic practice based on position of the stars,” says Thampi who is happy to have guests interested in his farm. But he does not market it aggressively believing that such indulgences are selective. On the farm the guest is treated to farming practices and can participate in all the activities there. The kitchen is looked after by his wife and he has six farm hands to help him run the place. “In the end our guests just give us a hug and leave,” he says with immense satisfaction.

Off Angamaly, near Athirampally falls, is Mathew Urumbath’s Nutmeg Greens, a 15-acre property. He entered this tourism aspect by default, “as friends and family insisted on sending their extended friends and family.” But Mathew reasons that the tourism aspect helps keep the farm in ship shape. With nutmeg as his main crop he does integrated or multi-cropping along with live stock farming, hence offering the guests a complete rural experience. He serves what he calls farm cuisine to his guests and says they can participate in as mundane an activity as walking the goats to performing a tougher job like milking cows. Mathew too lays stress on organic farming and cultivates a mix of rubber, coconut, areca nut and 200 varieties of fruit trees.

The trend he notices is that more people are taking to farming and hence the scope of farm tourism too increases. “Farm tourism has not taken off the way it was envisaged when it started,” says Mathew adding that the truly interested will always be come. He recently had a group of agriculture research scientists who just sat under the trees relishing the concept of integrated farming that he practices.

Philipkutty’s Farm is probably one of the earliest in Kerala that came up with the concept of hosting guests at their remote isolated island farm near Kumarakom. Today, Anu Mathew runs it along with her mother-in-law Anlamma carrying forward the dreams of her husband who built the first cottage in 1999. She has six cottages and guests who are thrilled at being there “just doing nothing.”

With tourism trying to reinvent itself in the State, farm tourism, in its multi-faceted versions, can surely be the cash cow that’s still not tapped completely. It’s potential remains uncultivated.

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