See Kuttanadu and Save Kuttanadu

A Community Tourism Initiative developed in Alappuzha (Alleppey), a much-visited beach and backwater tourism destination in Kerala, similar to Wayanad but with its own special feel.

KABANI is working with Gandhi Smaraka Grama Seva Kendram (GSGSK), an organization following Gandhian principles. This organization is working with more than 65,000 families in Alappuzha, in the coastal and backwater areas.

The larger objectives and concept of the programme are very similar to Wayanad, but the background of the community is entirely different: Aggressive tourism development along Alapuzha ‘s coast and backwater area continues to exploit vulnerable communities, creating a range of human rights issues, from displacement and loss of livelihood, to social and environmental issues. This undermines traditional lifestyles und destroys the fragile eco-system. The local folks living on the fringes of the backwaters and coasts have been repeatedly exposed to an onslaught of tourists and visitors; and this has wreaked havoc on their lives, and damaged their traditional ways of living.

The Community Tourism Initiative ‘Save Kuttanad—See Kuttanad’ tries to suggest a better model and a people- centred tourism. A tourism which is not only meant to profit the local communities, but also to get them involved in the tourism development in their surroundings.

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