Baby
Mathew Vallikappen does! Together with his wife Rani, Baby owns
Vanilla County Plantation, a charming home stay at the foot hills of Vagamon at
Teekoy, Kerala, India.
During a recent visit to India
I have the good fortune to stay at VanillaCounty and am lucky
enough to be the recipient of Baby and Rani’s gracious hospitality.
What
is of particular interest to me is Baby’s ‘back to nature’ vision for his spice
and rubber plantation. I am keen to learn more about his eco project.
Baby and Rani
Baby is the youngest of six sons and, as such, he inherited his father’s
home (VanillaCounty). Here he grows vanilla, rubber,
coffee, black peppercorns, jackfruit, (all of which he sells
commercially), as well as cocoa beans, nutmeg, tapioca, yams, cardamon, mace,
vegetables such as eggplant, turmeric, bananas, papaya, cinnamon, screwpine, cashew
nuts, betel nuts, ginger, coconut and cloves ( which he keeps for his own
use).
Land of Spices
These crops are grown on the very extensive grounds that surround his
homestead and also on a plantation of 25 acres which is further up the
road. On this acreage he grows 600 rubber trees which are interspersed with
teak, mahogany, jackfruit, wildjack, banana and coconut trees.
He tells
us that he could make a lot more money by solely growing rubber trees but he
chooses to grow a variety of trees and spices in true eco style as he cares
about nature. He tells us that this way he doesn’t have to use pesticides as
the companion plants he grows deter the pests and squirrels from
attacking the rubber trees and the spices.
His plantation is totally organic.
Cow dung is used for fertilizer and he grows lantana to attract butterflies.
The Cardamon Flower
Wildjack is used for making houseboats, teak and mahogany are valuable woods
used to make furniture, and even rubber trees (after 20 years of rubber
production) are used to make hardwood furniture.
Baby shows us the rubber being tapped.
One side of the tree is tapped over a
period of 10 years, and then the other side is tapped for 10 years. Each tree
gives one kilo of rubber milk per day.
The waste products of the rubber
gathering process are used to make rubber bands. The rubber milk is mixed with
formic acid and rolled into squares that look exactly like white
rubber bath mats. These mats are hung to dry on a clothes line and the
next day are smoked in his rubber smoking house.
I rather liked them when
they were white bath mats but at the end of the smoking process they look like
they are squares of … yep, tyres!
A little corner of Paradise
He used to raise poultry but discovered what I already knew, ie that hens,
in their never ending search for yummy worms and bugs, destroyed the roots of the
vanilla plants. My hens have gobbled up everything that I’ve ever tried
to grow.
The vanilla has to be hand pollinated as there is no natural
pollinater in India.
In Mexico,
where vanilla originates, it is pollinated by a humming bird. I suppose we could
say that this is one of the effects of taking something that flourishes in one
land to another… but the story also draws attention to how little things like
the fate of a humming bird, can be of paramount importance to the continuation
of a species of plant (in this case, vanilla). I suppose it is lucky that the
plants can be hand pollinated.
Baby shows us a precarious-looking ladder which the pepper gatherer uses to
collect the peppers as the vine twists around very tall trees. He
shows us the peppercorns drying on sheets of paper.
Baby tells that VanillaCounty is a haven for
bird watchers. Birds that can be seen here are the Eurasian Golden Oriole, the
Red Vented Bulbul, the Rufous Treepie and the White Throated Kingfisher.
When they have time, Baby and Rani unwind by swimming in natural pools
created by mountain streams. Would it be possible to find anything
more heavenly?
Baby and Rani have supplemented their income by turning their
delightful plantation into a home stay and Rani uses her own spices in the food
she cooks. She made us two great curries (fish and beef) and some
wonderful fluffy parotta bread.
I just wish we could have stayed longer! But I certainly recommend VanillaCounty to anyone who loves nature and
really – who wouldn’t want to swim in a rock pool, nap in a garden
hammock or eat home cooked Indian food?
Believe me, this homestead is as
close to heaven as you’ll get!
If only there were more farmers like Baby. In these days when crops are
sprayed with dangerous chemicals and seeds are genetically modified,
Baby’s plantation is a wonderful example of traditional farming techniques.
