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THE INTRODUCTION AND SPREAD OF PLYWOOD BOATS ON THE LOWER SOUTH-WEST COAST OF INDIA V. VIVEKANANDAN SOUTH INDIAN FEDERATION OF FISHERMEN SOCIETIES Karamana, Thiruvananthapuram 1 THE INTRODUCTION AND SPREAD OF PLYWOOD BOATS ON THE LOWER SOUTH-WEST COAST OF INDIA By V. Vivekanandan Published by South Indian Federation of Fishermen Societies Karamana P.O Thiruvananthapuram - 695 002 Kerala, India Tel : (91) 471 - 34 3711, 34 3718 Fax : (91) 471 - 34 2053 Email : [email protected] Website : http://www.siffs.org Designed by C.R.Aravindan SIFFS Computer Centre Printed at G.K. Printers, Ernakulam Cover : Photo of Vizhinjam Harbour by Suresh Nanthancode 2 THE INTRODUCTION AND SPREAD OF PLYWOOD BOATS ON THE LOWER SOUTH-WEST COAST OF INDIA V. VIVEKANANDAN SOUTH INDIAN FEDERATION OF FISHERMEN SOCIETIES Karamana, Thiruvananthapuram 3 CONTENTS Preface Part I Introduction ................................................................................ 9 A Description of the Project Area ......................................... 9 NGOs working with fisherfolk .................................................. 11 The Plywood Boat Project : Initial Steps ................................ 13 The Kottar Kat - An Immediate Hit ......................................... 15 Problems and Corrective Steps ............................................. 16 Entry of SIFFS and the Plyvallam ............................................. 18 The Anjengo Model Plyvallam ................................................ 20 Growing Demand and new Boatyards .................................. 21 The Private Boatyards .............................................................. 23 Dugout Substitution in North Kerala ....................................... 25 Current R & D ............................................................................. 27 Impact of the Projects ............................................................. 28 Lessons of the Project .............................................................. 34 Part II Ten years later ........................................................................... 39 Geographical spread .............................................................. 39 Ply boat population .................................................................. 40 Changes in fishing operations with theplywood boats ...... 33 SIFFS boatyard network ........................................................... 40 4 Changes in SIFFS ....................................................................... 46 SIFFS R&D in the last 10 years .................................................. 47 Future of plywood boat building............................................ 48 Tables 1. Current Prices of various Plywood Models (Jul 92) ......... 31 2. District-wise Plywood Boat Population (1991) ................. 32 3. Plywood Boats Produced by SIFFS Network of Yards ...... 33 Appendix I. Plywood Boats Produced by SIFFS Network of Yards ....... 51 II. District-wise Plywood Boat Population (1998) ................. 52 III. Current Prices of various Plywood Models (2001) .......... 53 5 PREFACE While SI S has a number of valuable publications on the fisheries sector to its credit, its own activities remain poorly documented. Though the importance of documentation is understood, it has always received a lower priority over getting things done. Whatever documentation is available is in the form of papers presented in some seminars or reports/evaluations prepared for donor organisations. The most successful activity of SI S by any standards has to be its plywood boat project. It is this activity that helped SI S make a reputation among fishermen and get well known nationally and internationally. The only published report on this project has been r.Gillets Small is difficult, published by ITDG way back in 1984. SI S involvement was in its early days then and much has happened since. It is in view of this that we have decided to publish a paper that I had presented at a workshop organised by the Bay of Bengal Project of the AO in July 1992 at Madras. Despite being 10 years old it still captures the key developments of the first decade of the plywood project and is therefore still valid. Only some minor revisions have been done. However, just to bring the reader up to date, a note has been added to the end of this publication, giving the important developments since July 1992. V.Vivekanandan 6 Part I 7 KERALA N KASARAGOD 60 0 60 Kms I N D I A KANNUR WYNAD KOZHIKODE Kozhikode # MALAPPURAM Tamilnadu Kerala PALAKKAD THRISSUR A R A B I A N S E A ERNAKULAM IDUKKI KOTTAYAM ALAPPUZHA PATHANAMTHITTA KOLLAM Kollam # Anjengo # THIRUVANANTHAPURAM Veli # Vizhinjam # Pozhiyoor # KANNIYAKUMARI Vallavilla # Muttom # 8 1. Introduction The introduction and spread of marine plywood boats among the artisanal fishermen of Trivandrum, Quilon and Kanyakumari districts on the South-West coast of India as a result of the work of certain NGOs, is today acknowledged as one of the most successful attempts at transfer of technology in the artisanal fisheries sector of India. This project was not an isolated attempt in technology transfer, but was part of a larger process of intervention among the artisanal fishermen, which resulted in the emergence of a new set of institutions under fishermen control and committed to the development of the artisanal fishery. 2. A Description of the Project Area The three districts of Trivandrum, Quilon (both part of the state of Kerala) and Kanyakumari (part of Tamil Nadu), together constitute a separate fishery zone when both ecological and technological factors are considered. The zone, having Cape Comorin in the south and Neendakara in the North as its boundaries, is characterised by rough surf conditions, a narrow and steep continentals shelf, great species diversity and the absence of large fish shoals. Except Vizhinjam, the coastline of this zone (approx. 170 km in length) is charactrised by the absence of safe anchorages and all craft have to operate from the open surf-beaten coast. This combination of rough surf conditions and the availability of a large number of species in Paper presented at the “Regional Expert Consultation on Planning of Fishing Craft Introduction” organised by the Bay of Bengal Programme of the FAO at Madras, 21-24 July 1992, with minor revisions. 9 small quantities has resulted in conditions that favour small- scale, diversified fishing operations. The Kattumaram has been the mainstay of the fishermen of this region for centuries. Small numbers of dugout canoes and plank canoes have co-existed, mainly used for shore-seining and driftnetting, but the Kattumaram, used with hooks and lines as well as a wide variety of small gillnets, was the most popular craft in the zone. An exception to this was the existence of a small dugout canoe enclave in Quilon, where the Vaddy beach gave some protection during the monsoon months. Since a wide range of techniques are practiced in the zone, there is considerable amount of difference between villages and individual fishermen with regard to skills and preferred fishing techniques. There are still a few villages that depend heavily on the shore seine, while there are some villages noted for fishing in the deep or even for voyage- fishing. The small-scale nature of the technology also meant that most fishermen could afford to own craft and gear. Ownership was individual, but everyone could aspire to be an owner. Another unifying factor in the zone has been religion, as almost all the fishermen belong to the Catholic Church. At the time the plywood boat project started, there were at least 40,000 kattumarams and 2,500 plank/dugout canoes. The active fishermen population in the zone could be put at approximately 60,000. This concentration of fishermen is the highest in the whole country, and probably the whole world. With less than 3% of Indias coastline, this zone contains nearly 10% of Indias fishermen. Given the large fishermen population and the small-scale nature of the technology, these fishermen are among the poorest sections of our society. 10 3. NGOs working with fisherfolk Since the 60s a number of NGOs have emerged. There have developed strong links with the fisherfolk and have tried to organise them for their betterment. In Kanyakumari, the Kottar Service Society (KSSS) has been the pioneer. A service society of the local diocese, the KSSS has several autonomous projects / organisations, working with a variety of beneficiaries, including fisherfolk, potters, palmyra climbers, small farmers and rural women. The Boat Building Centre at Muttom came up as a result of an Indo-Belgian project to motorise Kattumarams in the late sixties. Though the project was not very successful, it left behind infrastructure and a trained workforce, who could take up new technological interventions. The ishermen Sangams project was another independent project, which took up the organisation of active fishermen into marketing societies to fight the exploitation of middlemen and moneylenders. The Centre for Appropriate Technology (CAT) set up in 1981 was another venture that took up development and promotion of new technologies. Development of new fishing craft and improved processing of fish were among its priorities. Behind the Boat Building Centre at Muttom and CAT, was r.Gillet, a Belgian priest- engineer. Having come to India in 1973 to follow up the activities of the old Indo-Belgian project, he spent the best part of the seventies experimenting with various boat designs. The early experiments

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