Kumbalangi

Kumbalangi is one of many island village in the outskirts of Kochi. There are many such islands dotting the vast waterways that surround this port city, some of which can only be reach via small boat, but many are joined by small bridges able to take a tuktuk. 

Kumbalangi has billed itself as a model village, highlighting self-sufficiency using traditional crafts and techniques that provide food for its 500 people but also an export market. Tourists can visit, and watch the villagers demonstrate fishing, the making of rope from coconut husks, the making of brooms and baskets and roof tiles from palm fronds, terracotta pottery and the making of compost from clam shells, as well as food production and harvest.  

We were invited to stay for lunch which included traditional kerala dishes, such as fish molly curry with lots of coconut, grilled prawns and a pineapple curry. While there, Martin was asked to try his hand at raising the net on the huge cantilevered system inherited from Chinese fishers centuries ago and still very effectively used throughout the estuary. 

making beedies (local cigarettes)

fresh coconut juice

if the coconut if further ripened you get coconut meat

fishing with a hand net

this one is large enough to sell at market

boats for annual racing, made of hard, heavy coconut wood

getting the wheel going...

and going faster....

forming a pot from local clay

shaping it on the spinning wheel

expert hands

pot is done

and decorated!

local mussels

soup!

coconut fibres for broom-making

using a sharp knife to strip the main vein of the coconut leaves

feet help with basket-making

scraping out the fully ripened coconut to make coconut milk

the shredded husk of the coconut....

is then spun into fibres....

and then manually assisted to turn into 6-ply rope

which is awesome for skipping!

rope as a gift on top of our local, gifted hat

being taken out for a boatride

mangrove swamps line all the local waterways

a feast awaits us

Martin bringing in the prawn catch