Securing an elephant corridor, for a better life

By: Jose Louies

Hand full of happiness, The picture says it all

The seventy five year old man, Kalappa Gowda, looked up and said "This is the first time in my life I have slept well during the night and gone back to my fields in the morning to see my crops standing."


For someone who has seen his hard earned crops vanish overnight from the fields and his house trampled upon by elephants year after year, these are golden words indeed, for Gowda is the eldest of the 30 people who have recently voluntarily relocated from the Tirunelli-Kudrakote elephant corridor in the southern Indian Kerala state.


"In the past, we never had a day like this, what we used to get was the left over of elephants who came without any warning at nights ."


Elephants, Gaurs, Wild boar, Monkeys & Pea-fowl kept the entire community of farmers and their families busy day and night. About 50% of the crop was lost to the wild animals every season and life was a constant battle for survival for these farmers.


Things changed beyond their dreams, when their village Thirulakunnu was selected by the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) to be the first to relocate into a new area as part of securing a corridor for elephants which connects the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary in Kerela with the Brahmagiri Wildlife sanctuary in the neighboring Karnataka state . Supported by the UK-based World Land Trust, the IUCN Netherlands Committee and the Kerela forest department, this was indeed a dream come true for the four families who voluntarily shifted to their new homes. The "Gowdas" had migrated to this area four generations ago from another neighboring state, Andhra Pradesh.

Sweet Returns

Today the gowdas were harvesting fresh beans from the farm. There were three generations working in the field and Kallappa was the eldest and also the leader of the community. " Look, these beans are really good . This land need s no fertilizer. Plant the seeds, give enough water and they just grow on their own , " he said.


The Gowdas, who lived in a small cluster of houses, were relocated as an entire settlement without disturbing their social structure. The WTI project team studied each family separately and a holistic plan was chalked out with grass root information. It was agreed that each family will get an equal area of land in the new location with proper ownerships even though a major part of land in the original settlement was leased from the forest department.


Every family was given a new house , which were designed and built to suit the climatic conditions and the need s of the family with keeping the tradition and identity of the community intact. Gowdas being very proud of their culture were happy to have their traditional storage rooms and kitchen with a fireplace built entirely with clay, and places for worship inside the house in line with their tradition.


"We have even re-located their gods" says Sabu Jahas, WTI's Sr. Field Officer , in jest .


There were other problems such as clearing the mortgages on the land with local banks and money-lenders. The grass root level planning was key to the success of the project as every aspect of the relocation w as planned and executed in a time bound manner. "This project has been completed in less than a year, which is record time ," Sabu adds.

"All well" - A Gowda family at the common well

The new settlement has a common well to cater to agricultural and household needs. The land already had fruiting cash crops like coffee, pepper and areca nut. Along with that, the Gowdas have planted various tubers, pineapple and vegetables so that they can continue to have home grown food. Since the Gowdas are traditionally hardworking and good farmers, escape from wild animals and improved living conditions has help ed them earn much more than what they used to. "If you come here next year around this time, you will see their standard of life completely changed," Sabu says.


The resettlement area is just a walking distance from the medium sized town Kaatikulam with facilities such as schools, hospital and public transport. The children will have access to education and proper medical care unlike the earlier days when the Gowdas had to depend on quacks and there was just no school.

Sabu Jhas, Sr. Field officer WTI, with the Gowads in front of their new house

"This relocation is acting as a n example, for other villagers in the target area are requesting us to start the process. The confidence in the success of this venture is already built. After all, relocating settlements which date go back a few generations, especially for wildlife conservation is not an easy task ," add s Dr. Easa Sr. Director WTI , who planned the relocation and has spent decades studying the human-animal conflict in the area

Pix credit: Jose Louies