Three major tribal groups in Thekkady forests in Kerala — Mannans, paliyans and uralis — had abandoned their traditional organic pepper cultivation long ago. But the public-private partnership between CGH Earth and the state forest department has come as a saviour for this community with their much praised plan for organic farming.

In a novel initiative, the CGH Earth, which runs the Spice Village theme resort, floated a company —Natural Harvest (India) Pvt Ltd — to procures organic pepper at 33% higher prices than auction rates from the tribals and export it to Ecoland Herbs and Spices, a farmers’ consortium in Germany.

From there this pepper goes to hotels and food industry in Germany and other parts of the world. Till four years ago, the major attraction for guests at Spice Village was the nearby Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary. With the launch of organic pepper cultivation, the resort has now acquired its true meaning.

Enter Currency Trading Contest now. Win $ 25,000

“Now a small proportion of our guests would like to observe plant life and biodiversity in our spice plantations,” Anand Haridas, chief naturalist at Spice Village, said. Social and economic profile of the tribals have also improved with the help of this initiative. Earlier middlemen were exploiting tribals and some of them had opted for small jobs given by forest department for sustenance.

Now the 500-odd tribal families are more than willing to produce organic spices, says Antony Varghese, assistant manager of Natural Harvest. “We also enabled them to get organic certification and trained them in modern practices of organic farming,” he added.

Each of the fifty cottages in Spice Village provides a unique experience for the visitors with no air-conditioning, television, radio or even newspapers. The cottages’ roof made of elephant grass is eco-friendly and also provides natural air-circulation. The use of elephant grass also provides income to the tribals who procure and process it for use.

The cottages are surrounded by various spices. Part of the Spice Village property belonged to AW Woods, botanist and the first ranger of Periyar Game Sanctuary. Braving unseasonal rains and a 120-km tiresome journey, Sreekumar Raghavan managed to talk to Jose Dominic, CEO of CGH Earth.

Q: You are one of the most quoted personalities in heritage and theme-based tourism? Where did CGH Earth get the motivation?

A: In 1988, we came to adopt a property owned by the government in Island of Bangaram and we provided a unique natural experience to the visitors. Our inspiration for the cottages came from the nearby fishermen’s huts and apart from that the resort provides plenty of sea-centric experiences that visitors cherish. We also had to differentiate ourselves from the conventional offerings. And taking this position was in keeping with the changing trends and demands of travelers at that point of time. At CGH Earth properties you won’t see something which is not part of the immediate landscape or environment.

Q: What are the core values that drive CGH Earth activities?

A: The core factors are environmental sensitivity, sensitivity to local communities wherever we set up our property and provide a unique experience for the visitors. We have farm tourism which provides a real-life experience of the farm to the visitors.

Q: How do you plan to expand Natural Harvest’s operations in Thekkady?

A: As you may be aware, Natural Harvest is a baby of CGH Earth. It is now exporting 8-10 tonnes of organic pepper and thereby enhancing the livelihoods and traditional knowledge base of the three tribal communities in Thekkady forests. I believe that Natural Harvest should not only grow but become a catalyst in organic farming through value addition and innovation.

Now the company is funded by CGH Earth but in due course it should be self-sustianable and profit making. Natural Harvest was started as a fulfillment of our core values. Part of the profits are ploughed back into welfare of the tribal communities in Thekkady.

Q: How do you visualise the future for CGH Earth?

A: We need to replicate whatever core values we have propagated through our existing projects. We also need to create enriching new projects through constant innovation and leadership role in these areas. As responsible entrepreneurs, we need to deal with the issue of environmental sustainability and climate change.

Q: What major changes have CGH Earth’s concepts brought to tourism in India?

A: Today world over, the market is expecting the tourism industry to abide by our core values. Using sustainable source of energy and adopting appropriate waste management practices. So the industry has also attuned itself to the changing trends and demands.