THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
March 10, 2007; Page P5
India's Nuttiest Destination
The coconut industry is hurting, but planters in Kerala have a plan
By PETER WONACOTT
THYKATTUSSERRY VILLAGE, India -- As an orange sun dips behind the
hills, visitors to this village can hear the flapping commute of
egrets to rice paddy fields, singing from a nearby village church --
and, often, the ominous whoosh-thud! of a falling coconut.
The sound of the plunging fruit is a reminder of the gyrations in the
coconut market that are shaking up life in Kerala, a state in southern
India known for its progressive politics and, increasingly, its luxury
spa industry. Kerala produces about 13 billion coconuts a year, and
the fruits yield everything from food and drink to rope, lamp shades
and even guitars. But sinking coconut prices and an aging corps of
tree climbers -- not to mention medical studies linking coconut oil
with heart disease -- have squeezed planters here.
In response, a number of them are now tapping the life-sustaining
fruit for yet another use: tourism. Dozens of former coconut
plantations have opened their doors for overnight visits -- known as
homestays. At a time when a growing number of Americans are traveling to India
-- but seeing it through the eyes of Western-style hotels, tourist attractions
and restaurants -- the coconut plantations are offering something different:
local cuisine, village life and the
opportunity to retreat to colonial-era estates in time for high tea.
It's a style of travel that has proven to be an attractive alternative
to big resorts in other countries, too, from Italy to Argentina.
The transformation of Kerala's coconut plantations mirrors a shift
taking place throughout rural India. As the national economy cracks
open, once-isolated pockets of the country are suddenly being exposed both to
global competition and also to new economic opportunities. For some farmers,
that openness might mean better prices for pepper or rubber, while for other
Indians, tougher times might prompt a shift into a new industry or a move to a
nearby city.
In August, Johnny Tharakan opened three rooms of his home for guests. Mr.
Tharakan charges around $150 a night to stay at Ayanat House, a two-story home
built 70 years ago, including all meals. Mr. Tharakan and his wife, Rani, dine
with the guests, pointing out the Kerala favorites of fresh red prawns and
steamed cakes with coconut shavings.
The coconut industry "is dying," says Mr. Tharakan. "It's only a
matter of time, and that time is not very far off."
In Kerala, the coconut is only the latest example of using aging crops
to harvest tourists. A decade ago, many of the state's rubber
plantations began offering homestays amid a slump in prices, while
more recently, tea plantations have become B&Bs.
In contrast to those plantations at higher elevations, most of
Kerala's coconut plantations are located around the area's famed
backwaters, a network of lagoons, lakes and river tributaries that
help produce the sandy soil in which the trees grow. Because the
plantations are secluded, it's not unusual to go days without seeing
other tourists. During winter months, fishermen in dugout canoes pull
through purple-flowered water hyacinth, a weedy plant that covers the
waterways. Only rings from their cellphones disrupt the rhythmic
rowing.
Kerala has made a name for itself in recent years by growing its spa
industry. That business continues to command the lion's share of
attention from high-end travelers to this Communist-governed state. In recent
years, several luxury resorts, such as the Leela's Divya Spa in the capital of
Trivandrum and Taj Malabar's Jiva Spa in Cochin have
sprung up around the ancient Indian science known as Ayurveda, which involves
meditation, dietary advice and very oily massages.
But the rising popularity of homestays has also helped power Kerala's
surge in tourism. In Thykattusserry, built up around Ayanat House, it
is possible to see how some villages in Kerala are coming to grips
with the global changes in the coconut market. The village still
relies heavily on the coconut, but stagnant prices have rippled along
the supply chain -- from grower, to plucker to husker -- and changed
lives.
The Tharakans are more fortunate than most. They also own a big rubber estate
not far away, and prices have rebounded sharply during India's economic boom.
But one of the oldest Syrian Christian families in Kerala has seen what was
once a mixed rice and coconut farm shrink dramatically -- through donations to
village churches, government land reforms and divvying up among heirs -- to
roughly 12 acres, from 1,000 in the late 1960's. Each coconut now sells for
about 4 rupees, or about 9 U.S. cents. Kerala's long stagnant coconut prices
have come under new pressure after the government last month removed a duty on
edible oil imports.
In his tourism venture, Mr. Tharakan has kept much of Ayanat House
unchanged. It is stuffed with Art Deco furniture, and pepper and
vanilla vines dot the property.
Yet Mr. Tharakan is not above nods to modernity: He has cut out
coconut oil from his own diet because of high cholesterol.
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