In 1996, Gul Mohammed, a businessman, returned from the Gulf to his village in Kasargode district of Kerala. He found his people dejected and worried. Many families were on the brink of starvation. The flourishing beedi industry had collapsed and farm incomes had declined. Gul Mohammed met the crisis head on. He showed people in Padanna, Valiaparamba, Cheruvathur and Trikkarpur villages of Kasargode how they could earn an alternative income from mussel farming. Incomes rose and everybody’s morale got boosted. Gul Mohammed is now starting a theme village called Oyster Opera in village Padanna with waterfront cottages where you can amble around and watch fishing all day.

It is a fascinating sight to see women diving and fishing for oysters, wild clams and green mussels cultured on rafts along the Valiaparamba backwaters of Kasargode. The contentment on their faces is discernible as they fling their catch into their canoes. Mussel farming has brought smiles on the faces of these women and their families who were once beedi-rollers and farm hands. They are grateful to businessman Gul Mohammed. He has boosted their sagging spirits. Empowerment of women transformed the mundane lives of the local communities and brought prosperity. Gul Mohammed has been conferred the Ministry of Agriculture’s Karshaka Shiromani Samman. Gul Mohammed’s enterprise is a saga of perseverance and hard work. Realising the vast potential in mussel farming, he experimented with growing spat (the larval form of marine mussel) in coir rags dipped in brackish waters. When it was successful, he encouraged the local community to opt for this livelihood by arranging Indian Rural Development Programme subsidies and Gramin bank loans. From an initial production of just two metric tones, mussel farming now produces 7,000 tonnes which is about 70 per cent of the backwater green mussel farming in India.

Supporting his pioneering spirit are 150 self-help groups of women under the apex Green Mussel Farmers Society Padanna. His thriving mollusc farm now takes care of over 3,500 families. Today, a 30-km stretch of the palm-fringed Padanna Lake is strewn with green mussel farms. With its growing domestic demand and export potential and high profit returns, everyday more women co-operatives and local farming communities are joining the lucrative hunt for shell-fish. At present, Gul Mohammed is exporting a large chunk of the catch to the Middle East and other countries. As mussel farming is a summer vocation and cannot provide a regular income throughout the year, Gul Mohammed experimented with mussel farming in seawater with technical assistance from the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute in 2004. ‘‘We have sown spats(seeds) 300 m from the shoreline where they cling to ropes held aloft by buoys out ofthe reach of waves and turbulence. These experiments brought in a better catch than the backwater variety as the spats have grown well in 60 days as compared to 90 days in brackish water. But to shift farming operations to the sea, the stakeholders in mussel farming need financial aid from the government to buy speed boats. I am optimistic that if mussel farming is popularised with financial backing from government institutions, it will metamorphose from an alternative source of income to an all-year occupation and provide livelihood to more people,” said Mohammed. After striking gold in aqua farming, he has struck upon another innovative concept -- socially responsible and sustainable tourism by starting Oyster Opera.“The emphasis will be on generating greater economic benefits andenhancingthe well being of local communities. We will also focus on maximising the positive aspects of tourism without causing any negative impact on the environment,” he explained. Gul Mohammed is hopeful that if the venture clicks, local communities will get a regular income most of the year.

Keeping in mind the natural ambience of the area, locally available material has gone into construction of the theme village resort. It has simple, traditional structures with tiled roofs and laterite walls. These waterfront cottages offer a stunning view of the backwaters. There is also a cottage built on stilts and a floating one. There are no TVs or CD players to distract you from nature. You can sit in the verandah and watch women diving for shell fish or fishermen hauling in the day’s catch. From their cottages or houseboats, tourists can see people doing seaweed farming, mussel farming on coir, cage culture and traditional collection of natural clam and edible oyster. Some of the women of Kudumbashree (self-help groups) have been trained to receive tourists and cook mouthwatering authentic Malabar fare. So you can have an ethnic Kerala meal served on a banana leaf. Houseboat cruises on the placid Valiparamba backwaters, visits to tiny islands and North Malabar’s rich offering of theyyam and other folk arts have been added to the holiday experience. If you want a sun and sand you must take a slow boat ride to the Valaipaparama beach and estuary. If you have time, you can take a morning stroll down quiet country lanes and savour the taste of freshly tapped toddy brought down in black pots by tappers.