A scene from Aranmula

September 18

Pathanamthitta
The Union Ministry of Tourism and the State Tourism Department will chalk out a new strategy to market the rural tourism destinations in the State.

A workshop on Rural Tourism Project chaired by Secretary to the Union Ministry of Tourism Sheel Bhadra Banerjee, was held in New Delhi on Saturday. It decided to project two rural tourism destinations in Kerala — Aranmula in Pathanamthitta district and Kumbalanghi in Ernakulam district — at the national and international level, said District Collector Ashok Kumar Singh.

Aranmula and Kumbalanghi were selected among 32 villages in different parts of the country for the implementation of the Endogenous Tourism Project (ETP) two years ago.The ETP is jointly being sponsored by the Government of India and the United Nations Development Programme.

Presentations
Aranmula Vasthu Vidya Gurukulam executive director P.N. Suresh, who is also the ETP implementing officer in Aranmula, made a presentation on the progress of rural tourism projects.R.K. Anil, ETP project officer and Joint Secretary to the Union Ministry of Tourism Leela Nandan were among others who addressed the workshop.

Mr. Singh said the workshop was attended by consultants of 15 select endogenous tourism destinations, Central Tourism officials, District Collectors and representatives of UNDP as well as the Tourism departments of the States concerned. Waste management at the rural tourism destinations, marketing techniques and convergence of resources for rural tourism promotion across the globe were the main topics of discussion.

The Collector said the district administration would soon launch a project to make Aranmula a ‘zero-waste’ panchayat, in association with ‘Thanal,’ a non-governmental agency in Thiruvananthapuram.

Heritage Village
Mr. Singh said the State Government had already sent the proposal to set up a Heritage Village in Aranmula to the Government of India. The project was aimed at showcasing the rustic traditions, arts and crafts that reflected the rich cultural heritage of Aranmula. K.C. Rajagopalan, Aranmula MLA, said five acres of land had been identified for the proposed cultural heritage village.

The cultural heritage village will also have an exclusive workshop- cum-exhibition stall where the world famous metal mirror-making process, Aranmula Kannadi, will be demonstrated, besides a Vanchippattu kalari and a country craft-building unit.