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The
Houseboats of kerala are giant country crafts, measuring up
to 80 feet in length, retrieved from being lost to the State
altogether. Once they ruled the backwaters, poled along by
one or two men, heavily loaded with rice, coconut and other
commodities. But in the recent times, the kettuvalloms have
been replaced by more and modern modes of transport,
relegating them to neglect and decay.
The
houseboats of today - huge, slow moving, exotic barge used
for leisure trips - are the reworked kettuvalloms of olden
times. The original kettuvalloms were used to carry tonnes
of rice and spices - a standard kettuvallom can hold up to
30 tonnes - from Kuttanad to the Kochi port.
The kettuvallam or ‘boat with knots’- was so called because
the entire boat was held together with coir knots only - not
even a single nail is used during the construction. The boat
is made of planks of jack-wood joined together with coir.
This is then coated with a caustic black resin made from
boiled cashew kernels. With careful maintenance, a
kettuvallom can last for generations.
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A portion of the kettuvallom was covered with bamboo and
coir to serve as a restroom and kitchen for the crew. Meals
would be cooked on board and supplemented with fresh fish
from the backwaters. Today, the tradition is still continued
and the food from the local cuisine is served by the
Kuttanad localites, on board.
When the modern trucks replaced this system of transport,
some one found a new way that would keep these boats, almost
all of which were more than 100 years old, in the market. By
constructing special rooms to accommodate travelers, these
boats cruised forward from near- extinction to enjoy their
present great popularity.
Now these are a familiar sight on the backwaters and in
Alleppey alone, there are as many as 120 houseboats.
While converting kettuvallams into houseboats, care is taken
to use only natural products. Bamboo mats, sticks and wood
of the aracanut tree are used for roofing, coir mats and
wooden planks for the flooring and wood of coconut trees and
coir for beds. For lighting though, solar panels are used.
Today, the houseboats have all the creature comforts of a
good hotel including furnished bedrooms, modern toilets,
cozy living rooms, a kitchen and even a balcony for angling.
Parts of the curved roof of wood or plaited palm open out to
provide shade and allow uninterrupted views. While most
boats are poled by local oarsmen, some are powered by a 40
HP engine. Boat-trains - formed by joining two or more
houseboats together - are also used by large groups of
sight-seers.
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