KOCHI: From viewing local communities as mere beneficiaries of tourism, a Kudumbashree initiative is working to provide them with a steady livelihood by facilitating their involvement in planning, managing and promoting leisure-industry projects in their own neighbourhoods.
“The informal launch of Kerala’s community-based tourism (CBT) project happened in 2022,” said an official with Kudumbashree’s National Resource Organisation (NRO) who did not want to be named.
“It coincided with the launch of the Rebuild Kerala Initiative Entrepreneurship Development Programme (RKI-EDP). RKI-EDP was conceived as a recovery and resilience programme to help rebuild local economies in regions that had been severely affected by recurring floods. Alappuzha district, and the region of Kuttanad in particular, was among the worst impacted and therefore a key focus area under the programme.”
The CBT initiative was formally rolled out in Kuttanad in January of 2025. “Kudumbashree NRO in 2023-25 had already tested a few CBT models in Rajasthan (Ranthambore Tiger Reserve) and Sikkim (Pakyong district) under the Startup Village Entrepreneurs Programme,” the official said.
Explaining the project, she said, “The success of the Kuttanad pilot demonstrated that community-owned tourism enterprises could be a viable and sustainable livelihood model. This formed the basis for a phased, deliberate expansion of the CBT initiative across Kerala.
In the first phase, the initiative operated as a proof-of-concept with a small set of pilot panchayats within Alappuzha. Building on the feedback from this phase, FY 2025–26 saw the initiative expand into three districts – Idukki, Wayanad, and Kannur – while the work in Alappuzha continued with a focus on strengthening institutions. Across these districts, the CBT initiative was grounded in six new panchayats, each selected for its distinct tourism typology.”
In Kuttanad, a series of packages were curated that wove together the everyday life, livelihoods, and cultural practices of the local community: backwater journeys, traditional homestays, culinary trails, handicraft demonstrations, folk art performances including mudiyattam and thira, and storytelling rooted in local heritage. “These packages were built around what the community had to offer, and were hosted and delivered by community members,” the official added.
What does CBT entail?
“The project has local community members move from being beneficiaries towards taking ownership. Local communities are positioned as service providers – offering homestays, local food, and transport that reflect everyday community life.
As experience curators – hosting cultural performances, craft demonstrations, farm visits, and guided tours rooted in local knowledge and as owners of the tourism model – holding shared ownership over how tourism is planned in their villages and how its benefits are distributed through institutions of communities,” the official said.
Impact So Far
55+ community-hosted tours held across pilot panchayats
550+ tourists hosted by local communities
Rs 17.5L+ direct income generated for Kudumbashree NHG families
15+ exposure visits hosted for envoys from other states
12 community tourism service committees formed
1 district-level community tourism brand established