Nanni and Namaskaram

The journey home was long and exhausting but was smooth. I was also fortunate enough to have a short visit with my friend, Laura, during my layover in Los Angeles. Now I’m resting up at my grandparents’ house in Tempe before heading back to Tucson. It’s great to be back home. I had an amazing time in India and want to thank the people at COSTFORD for hosting us with great hospitality. I also want to thank our professor, Dr. Jerry Anthony, for inviting us the opportunity to participate in this class and for sharing his knowledge and time with us. I was very inspired by all the people I met during my journey and hope to make it back to Kerala some day! 

The Last Leg

After a 10-hour trip back to Trivandrum, we spent the night recuperating. The next morning we worked on both individual and group assignments. In the afternoon we visited the engineering and architecture college in Trivandrum where my professor, Jerry Anthony, earned his undergraduate degree in architecture. We were able to interact with undergraduate architecture and graduate planning students. They presented a plan for downtown revitalization that they had worked on all semester.

The next day, we heard from a retired town planner and the director of a local NGO that focuses on environmental planning. The second presentation was more beneficial as our presenter provided a synopsis of the environmental issues facing Kerala and his ideas on “the way out” of the current state of crisis. Major environmental problems in Kerala include poor system of waste management, pollution of water bodies, and a craze for building which lead to problems of sand mining, deforestation, and devouring of hills. His proposed solutions include an emphasis on democracy and participatory processes, developing democratic institutions, ensuring transparency, building alternate models to development and lifestyles, and increasing sensitivity of environmental and social ills to the people.  While he expressed little hope for the future and the tone of his presentation was somber, his actions showed that he is energized about bringing about positive social and environmental change.

Our last night in Kerala was spent finalizing a group presentation for our hosts, the staff of COSTFORD, packing, and finally one last shopping spree to spend the rest of our ruppees and purchase any last minute souvenirs. We visited Chalai Bazaar once more and ended the night with some dessert, of course! 

The Good Life: Elephant Hill Palace, Thekkadi, and the Backwaters

After a full day of traveling we made it to our destination: Thekaddi. Thekaddi is a town in northeastern Kerala near the Western Ghats. We were in awe as we exited the van. Thekaddi was beautiful with a lush green forest dominating the landscape and the feeling of cool, crisp air on our skin. We stayed at a resort called Elephant Hill Palace for one night and fell in love with the place! In the morning we headed to a Wildlife Sanctuary where we took a boat ride tour of the sanctuary. I spotted wild boar, monkeys, and a variety of birds. The elephants and tigers must have been hiding out in the forest…bummer! We did see some elephants a little bit later, however. Most of the group took an elephant ride. I opted not to. Forcing wild animals into captivity just isn’t my cup of tea. The elephants did look well taken care of, however and I fed one some papaya. To top off an already amazing day, we took a tour of the Backwaters. The Backwaters are where the Arabian Sea meets land, forming channels of water and streams that meander through a tropical landscape and small villages. We took a two-hour boat ride through the Backwaters and were able to watch the sunset. It was breathtaking. 

Religion, the State, and yes… more shopping

Today I woke up to the sound of bullet shots. But don’t worry they were not violent gunshots. Each time someone makes an offering to the Gods at t Hindu temple, a blank bullet is fired. Religion in India is taken very seriously and here in Kerala there are places to worship for nearly every major religion. Hindu temples, Islamic mosques, Jewish synagogues, and Christian churches or cathedrals. Most days we can hear the chanting, praying, and bullet shots from Hindus, Muslims, and Christians starting at 4am!

The president of one panjayat, or a local body of government, gave today’s presentation. Since 1996, there has been a movement to decentralize government and the planning process within India. As a result of several constitutional amendments, local governments in India experience much more power than they had in the past. This movement is manifested in “The People’s Plan.” Local governments receive between 30 and 40% of state funding for various planning projects. Our speaker described his panchayat’s emphasis on sustainable development and provided us with a unique definition. Four components make up the practice of sustainable development, he informed us. These four components include: 1) ecological awareness, 2) equity or distribution of wealth, 3) increase in production/economic growth, and 4) social peace. I often hear of the three “E’s” of sustainable development: environment, equity, and economy, but never before have I heard social peace as part of it’s definition. I found this element particularly encouraging, especially after hearing of the atrocity that occurred back at home in Tucson where one of our congresswomen, along with several others, was shot. No political agenda is worth the loss of human life. I appreciate how this panchayat makes it a priority to emphasize this belief. To hear local government officials describe sustainable development as the framework for their planning processes, decision-making, and policy setting, was inspiring and hopeful. It is an exciting time to be a planner in India.

We then took two site visits to see panchayat-funded initiatives in action. First we visited an organic banana farm. The sacred bananas are grown to supply food for sacred elephants at a local Hindu temple. Afterwards we visited a goat and cow farm. The animals were absolutely adorable!

Upon arrival at our hotel we spotted an elephant standing in an open field located directly across from us. The elephant was being held there for use in a Hindu festival. The temple was located in the area as well and each day more and more elephants were brought to the field.

That evening, a group of us ventured to the Oberon Mall. I felt right at home with a Baskin Robins, Adidas, and Puma store. We enjoyed dinner in the food court (many of us excited to diversify our meals after two weeks of eating Indian food!). I particularly enjoyed an ice cold Pepsi! 

Ports, Spices, and History

After a long day out and about in Fort Kochi I am back in my room at the Bharat Hotel. Filled with history, Kochi is a peninsula and major port on the Arabian Sea north of Trivandrum in Kerala. The Portuguese, the Dutch, and the British all colonized the area, making for a culturally diverse place. Today we visited a synagogue in Jew Town, toured the Basilica, Palace, saw a church by Vasco de Gama, and accomplished some major shopping.

Kochi is known for being a center of trade, and in particular the trade of spices. We visited a spice market where I bought tea, spices, ayurvedic soap, and ginger candy.
After sight seeing and shopping we enjoyed lunch seaside. Some tried the fresh fish cooked with a ginger sauce and wrapped in a banana leaf. I opted for vegetable chop suey. We each had a Kingfisher beer, the local brew of choice, which was very relaxing after a long day in the heat. The seaside location was very nice and as an added bonus we got to see dolphins!

After taking a ferry back to the mainland we made it back to the hotel for some much needed rest. 

A taste of paradise

Today we toured a gorgeous residence designed by Laurie Baker. The house belonged to a teacher and a planner who hired Baker to custom design the home, which was absolutely beautiful. Baker, known for working onsite and without blueprints, spent an extraordinary amount of time designing this home. Our host told us stories of how Baker spent time getting to know her, her preferences, and personality before beginning to design. Most of us in the group agreed that we would love to live in a house like this! After our visit we packed into our van and traveled to a major port city in Kerala called Kochi. The most exciting moment of the trip is when we passed a man riding an elephant along the side of the road!

When we talk about community development, we talk about women and children

Day 9 of the trip focused on social planning and the role of gender in community development. We heard from staff of a government-funded program called Kudumbashree, which means “Prosperity to the Family,” followed by a feminist marxist critique of “the Kerala Model.”

Kudumbashree is a state run, locally administrated program funded by the People’s Plan Campaign.  The People’s Plan was enacted after consitutional amendments in 1993, which required a more decentralized planning process, granting local governments more administrative power as well as a higher percentage of state budgets. These amendments also enacted a mandate to alleviate poverty and provide social services. This mandate is partially aimed at addressing the historic marginalization of women and other minority groups in the planning process. Local governments now mandate participation of women through a quota requiring a 50% female representative body. Furthermore, these new changes in policy ensure that women participate in task forces and working groups and have thereby helped to bring women into the new decentralized planning process. The Women’s Component Plan has become an essential element to the anti-poverty plan. Changes to the planning process in India due to the 1993 and 1994 constitutional amendments was a constant theme throughout all of our lectures on the trip.

The mission of Kudumbashree is “to eradicate absolute poverty in ten years through concerted community action under the leadership of local governments, by facilitating organization of poor for combining self help…” The agency coordinates various socio-economic development programs ranging from micro-credit financing to food security and nutrition needs.

The program that I found most interesting was their “women status self-learning program.” Staff found that while women were bringing in extra income and learning valuable skills as a result of the micro credit program, the program did not address other gender-related problems. Domestic violence, barriers in the workforce, and the problem of dowries are still prevalent. According to the presenter, Sarada Muraleedharan, it was not enough that women get space within the public process, they need a voice as well.  Kudumbashree provides relevant literature and facilitates discussion on topics primarily pertaining to women and work such as equal wage remunerations, women and safety in the work place, and health concerns at work.

Muralledharan noted that since most literature on gender comes from outside of India so one thing the agency has done is to make the material relevant to Indian women by creating stories or newspapers. The program has been so successful that it caught the attention of national government and there is currently talk to expand the model to other states.

In the afternoon, Nalini Nayak from the Self Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) presented a critique of the Kerala Model. She dissected women’s status in Kerala and took a closer look at the claims to women’s progress in the state. For example, while women have made strides in education, there is a higher child mortality rate among girls than boys and gendered segregation in the professions is also evident. Such inequalities or disparities are usually less obvious and therefore more difficult to address. The same phenomenon happens in the U.S.

Both presentations provided me with a better understanding of programs and perspectives related to gender in Kerala. It is encouraging to see this dialogue take place among government officials and everyday people. One thing is clear, we are certain to see great things from Indian women now and in the future.