KOCHI: The much-hyped ‘Prakriti Gramam’ or Nature Village being developed at Ezhattumugam, 40 km off Kochi city, will be thrown open to the public in two months. Unique in many respects, the second phase of the model eco-friendly responsible tourism project focuses on development in harmony with the locally-available resources. “Prakriti Gramam is a one-of-its kind project especially in terms of Responsible Tourism as it has seen the active participation of local people. Majority of the work has been completed. The facilities are expected to be available in two months,” secretary of Ernakulam DTPC P B Jayasankar said.However, the first phase launched in 2006 failed to draw picnic-goers.Hence, the village has now come up with facilitites including accommodation set in rustic ambience, organic vegetable/fruit garden, poultry unit, goat and cow farms, an organic food park, solar-powered lighting and greenhouses. A major attraction of the project is indeed the green house concept. The visitors can buy saplings from the green house set up at the site. They can then plant them in the designated areas in the village, thereby contributing to the green footprint of the Prakriti Gramam. The tourists will be assisted by the local gardeners and the Kudumbashree workers. The construction and the maintenance of the park will have the active participation of Kudumbashree units, Janasree units, local gardeners and various panchayat beneficiaries. Tree houses and eco-cottages built using locally available materials like bamboo, will house the tourists coming to the village. The work is being done on a Modernize Operate Transfer basis at a cost of `33 lakh with an agreement for operation for a period of 10 years.
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