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Life in Malakkappara

From Thrissur, the land of the famous Pooram, we set off to Malakkappara, to work at the field station of the Western Ghats Hornbill Foundation (WGHF). The trip from Chalakkudy to Malakkappara was a breath taking experience. I fell in love with the place and the paths through the forest. My friend Bidula and Ms. Reshmi of  WGHF accompanied me.

We reached the hilly village of Malakkappara at 8.30 pm. It was cold and beautiful. A traditional charm of the tribal life was waiting for us. The employees at the field station received us warmly. There I met Manikaraj, Ayyappan, Ramachechi – all from Kadar community and Swetha from Bangalore. The whole atmosphere was very different from what I had expected it to be. It was altogether a new life for me. The most thrilling moment was early morning, as we enjoyed the freezing cold for the first time in my life. Sometimes, I spotted deers in our backyard. I looked forward for each morning. Adjacent to where I stayed, there was a beautiful river and morning dips in that river nearly knocked my senses out. I tried my hands in fishing, though I never caught any fish.

The director of the Hornbill Foundation, Dr. Amitha Bachan. K.H, explained the 10 years of experiences of the foundation in the field of conservation and empowerment of Kadar tribal community. The studies on hornbill birds and riparian forests were the pioneering works which got a great attention and notice from all over the world.

WGHF gave more focus to rain forest conservation and the education of Kadar tribal children. To uplift the Kadar children, they designed an education package which considered promoting the talent of these children.

Educational dropout among Kadar children was very high. The main reason was the lack of awareness given to children about the importance of education. Children were mainly adopted into the habit of hunting and playing.

They are primitively tribal groups and the population of the Kadar is very low compared to other tribes inside Kerala. They are situated near Chalakkudi river basin. During our internship, we were very lucky to interact with them closely as Manikyan chettan guided and helped us to collect information and insight on their beautiful lives. Much to their and our delight, we collected their tribal songs, too. These couple of weeks we spent at Malakkappara had a deep impact in my mind and I returned with a lot of freshness and energy.