“I remember those days of struggle. It was a fight against poverty, hardships and wild animals. On our small piece of land, in Wayanad, we tried growing bananas, a little bit of coffee. They were often destroyed by elephants or wild boars. The only way we could survive was by working for others. My parents used to work in the paddy fields and we lived in small thatched huts with walls that were plastered with clay. I stopped going to school after Class IX,” says Baby, a member of the Paniya tribe that once lived mostly as gatherers and farmers in the deep forests. One is not sure who gave the tribe its name. They say it was given by the settlers who encroached on their lands and made them ‘slaves’ or workers, a rough translation of ‘Paniya’.
In the 1980s the condition of the tribal communities in Wayanad — a district that has the highest tribal population in Kerala — had reached a flashpoint, threatening to turn into a humanitarian crisis. Lured by small sums of money, liquor and tobacco, many tribal communities gave up their fertile lands to migrants and were forced to the fringes of the forest and the mountain slopes.
" Being marginalised, excluded from development projects, alienated, the tribal people are victims of their own history. The socio-political and cultural exclusion is ingrained in their consciousness. — Seeram Sambasiva Rao, Sub-Collector, Wayanad district "
But soon, an innovative rehabilitation programme by the Kerala government began transforming the lives of tribal communities — including Baby’s — through tea and tourism. One such initiative was the Mananthavady Tribal Plantation Co-operative Ltd. (MTPC), a cooperative society set up to rehabilitate the Adiya and Paniya communities, the most backward among the tribes. Formed with the Sub-Collector as Managing Director and an elected body of directors, the cooperative diligently developed tea plantations in five of its seven units.
Baby, now in his 50s, works as a supervisor in the Priyadarshini tea estate in Mananthavady. “My father had died by then but my mother began working in the estate. I also joined her. While she worked as a tea plucker, my job was to dig holes, clear the weeds and shrubs. We have been here since then. We earn a regular salary, our children are better off. My daughter is married and my son is completing his B.Com. Life is so much better today.”
When the programme began, around 400 tribal people found refuge and work at Priyadarshini tea estate. Things seemed fine for a while, but soon the society witnessed strikes, tea factory lockouts, and workers went hungry. By 2005, Priyadarshini, like many tea estates in Kerala, was hit severely.
The difference was that Priyadarshini did not take it lying down. The members worked hard under Balkar Singh, the then Sub-Collector, to get the society back on track. The four-room Manager’s Bungalow was rechristened Wayanad Tea County and opened to tourists. Singh’s successor N. Prasanth started a mid-day meal programme for workers with the income generated from tourism.
“I noticed that the workers’ medical bills were huge. Enquiries revealed that it was due to malnutrition. We decided to provide them nutritious food. To generate funds for this, we thought of opening the estate and the bungalow to tourists. The bungalow, the beautiful 395 acre estate, some vantage viewpoints, and trekking routes became tourist attractions. The move was a success,” recalls Prasanth, now the Collector of Kozhikode.
MTPC is now ready with a responsible tourism initiative called Priyadarshini Tea Environs, with the support of the Department of Tourism and District Tourism Promotion Council, to improve livelihood opportunities in this tribal belt. The tea factory has been upgraded and now produces a branded tea called Vishwas Gold, another income-generating initiative.
In a little over two years, the estate has transformed from a dead loss into a profitable tea and tourism business. The changes are visible beginning at the entrance. There is the office and new buildings for security and an information centre. A 12-foot deep natural pond set amid green slopes has turned into an attractive swimming pool. A young tribal boy comes pushing a new sports bicycle. “He is one of 20 tribal youth from families of tea workers we trained in hospitality management. This is part of our endeavour to expand benefits to the next generation. We have our own bicycle track and a couple of new bicycles that tourists can rent,” says Sub-Collector Seeram Sambasiva Rao, shifting gears as his cycle ambles up a slope. “The estate was the venue for an international mountain biking event in 2013,” he adds. There is also a tea museum and a tea-tasting session, besides a recreational park, amphitheatre, and night camping facilities.
The crisis in the tea market and other factors have been challenging for MTPC . The society recently renovated a factory that was shut down in an attempt to stay afloat. Rao is realistic about the future of the society. “Priyadarshini is about the members and their empowerment. It will be a success only when they can take on the responsibility of planning and decision making. Though the society is successful in providing a steady income and comfortable living conditions for its members, it has fallen short of empowering them, inculcating in them a sense of ownership. Our focus has been to address this issue,” says Rao.
The future of the tribal people, however, needs immediate attention. “Being marginalised, excluded from development projects, alienated, they are victims of their own history. The socio-political and cultural exclusion is ingrained in their consciousness. We are making attempts to empower them, talk to them, make them believe that they are owners and not dependent on others. There are tangible changes in their approach, but it is very slow,” Rao adds.
The society’s long-term plans hinge on tourism. “The tea industry is going through a rough phase and we need to diversify to survive. Our branded tea and the tourism initiative can help.” It’s a now or never moment for Priyadarshini, but it is a unique tribal initiative that deserves to succeed.
pradeep.k@thehindu.co.in
