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| Monday, February 05, 2007 |
| Another homestay near Kochi, Kerala - Haritha Farms The Pimenta |
This is not actually about homestays in Kerala - I received a mail from a reader of this site, who wrote to me about what he liked and disliked about Kerala's numerous homestay options.
There are lot of homestays in Kerala, but an interesting feature we have seen there is that most families that run homestays have their kids admitted into boarding schools.
We were also able to stay some of the good villas, styled often as replicas of posh hotels! So you do not see the real life around. Interstingly almost all these home stays are in the vicinities of the tourist areas and located either in hills or backwaters. So you can also see the not-so-happy-faces of people who are subjected to be like animals of zoo where their daily life is invaded a lot in the name of tourism. I have to agree somewhat. The fact the owners of homestays send their kids to stay in boarding schools while they take care of guests is interesting. Such a thing would have been unthinkable in 1994 when I left Kerala. Only the really rich did stuff like that, mostly because they found themselves too busy or incapable of bringing up their kids well.
Not so happy faces of people? I don't know. Sure, the malayalee usually does not like intrusions into his life. Especially when they don't make any money out of that! Change that, and he is usually happy to assist you in whatever way possible!
Anyway, there is more in the letter.
Interestingly, we came across a different tourism concept called eco-agri-tourism in a really middle-of-nowhere place called kadalikad near Cochin. The guy who runs it is an ex lawyer, who is into conserving the nature by planting more trees and he calls it as forest gardening.
In between he grows pepper and nutmeg. Also he has four small bungalows with an open terrace into the garden with attached bath having hotwater solar powered. The unique aspect of the place they have a common meeting place which is near their house having a kitchen attached to it. His school going boy gives you a garden tour.There is enough host guest interacction withoout interrupting the privacy of the guest.They seems to market it by word of mouth and it seems that it works . The place is called Haritha Farm's The Pimenta
Recommended for a three to four nights stay in kerala which is a farmstay but will act like a homestay too.
Do check up and verify what it is all about on their website.Labels: Travel |
| posted by a correspondent @ 4:33 AM |
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