The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : Vellikkulam to be developed as handloom village

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Aug 18, 2006

Kerala

Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

Vellikkulam to be developed as handloom village

S. Anil Radhakrishnan

Bid to generate job opportunities, improve living conditions

Thiruvananthapuram: As part of integrating the traditional industrial sector and the burgeoning tourism sector, Kerala Tourism is planning to develop Vellikkulam hamlet, near Balaramapuram, into a handloom village.

The development of the hamlet, situated 2.5 km from the Balaramapuram junction along Thiruvananthapuram-Kanyakumari NH 47, is expected to generate job opportunities, improve the living conditions of the villagers engaged in the traditional weaving industry and create a platform to showcase the finished products.

The project, being taken up under the Rural Tourism Scheme of the Union Ministry of Tourism, would be the first step in promoting the traditional industrial sector as a value-addition for tourism, a senior official of Kerala Tourism told The Hindu . A cluster of 16 houses in the village was identified for establishing the infrastructure as a model.

Under the Rs.80-lakh project, infrastructure at Vellikkulam would be created for the community and tourists. Dilapidated worksheds; lack of proper ventilation; water supply and sewerage system; storage space and showcasing facilities for the products; the absence of recreation space and a communication centre and unhygienic and poor working conditions show the faces of poverty and social insecurity prevailing in the village now.

The hardware components include borewells for water supply, development of roads, a sewerage system, toilet blocks and parking facilities. A demonstration building would be set up for marketing the products. Signboards will be installed and the surroundings of the village landscaped.

Open spaces and landscapes project a clean and friendly environment. By providing them, the tourism authorities hope to attract tourists, especially foreigners, in large numbers to the proposed handloom village, which is close to the Kovalam beach resort and is en route to Kanyakumari.

Handloom products are much in demand among tourists. A handloom skill demonstration centre has been proposed in the village, as Balaramapuram is the hub of traditional weaving industry.

The software components include creating awareness of tourism potential of the area; communication skills and capacity-building programmes; networking arrangements for making products available in the market; training for appointing tourist guides; training in creating eco-friendly surroundings; awareness programmes for improving cleanliness; home-stays for tourists and introduction to telecommunication and Internet facilities.

The hardware component is being developed under the `Rural Tourism Scheme.' The Centre has provided Rs.50 lakh for developing it. An additional Rs.10 lakh will be provided by the State Government.

The software constituent of the project is to be funded under the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Rs.20 lakh is needed for developing the software component. A UNDP team is expected to visit the capital city and the village soon.

KITCO is the implementing agency and the Habitat Technology Group would be the consultant and non-governmental organisation for developing the software component. "The work has already been awarded. The work will commence soon after foundation stone laying for the project," the official said.

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