looking for volunteer boatwork and english teaching in kerala.

boatmasterlondon

hello there, i am an apprentice waterman on the river thames in london.

i like working on the river thames but in the winter times are cold and slow. i wanted to visit a nice area of india and thought kerala would be nice after seeing it on t.v.

i would like to volunteer my services to the local watermen of the kerala backwaters, helping with maintanence repairing their boats and helping with things in general. anything to do with the water and boats would keep me happy.

i used to be a new age traveler in the ninties and have worked on boats for the last few years,working on boats in the thames crewing and maintenance.

i work as a volunteer for thames21, a voluntary clean up team for the river thames, and i also work as a volunteer for the westminster boating base, a boating school in london. if anyone needs referances.

i would like to visit kerala for about a month and thinking of going in march next year at the start of the summer.

of course i would'nt want paying as i would consider it a great opportunity to visit kerala and help out my fellow watermen. it would be good to be part of a team and very educational.

it would give me stories to bring home to the river thames and tell my work fellows. i would like to discover kerala and help with all thing watery and would like to help out the locals with english lessons, simple science and maths.

could anyone please tell me more about the kerala area please?

i know that probally the main town is kochi (ex cochin.) i am doing my research on this website but thought it helpfull to let people know my intentions.

i am enjoying reading other threads on this website and finding out more about india and dreaming of the future.

if anyone could help tell me more about kerala it would realy help and if i do get to volunteer out there perhaps we could have a cup of tea and go for a boat trip.

thanks very much, alex.

Nick-H

Well, this is commercial stuff, so I suspect that volunteering, in the commercial world, equates to being ripped off for your labour.

Forgive my cynicism: your experience and desire is really interesting. But, sticking with problems to begin with, I'd say language and technology. The traditional Kerala boats are stitched together*, and I doubt that, although a lot of English is spoken in the state, you'd get far without speaking Malayalam, the local language.

However, I'm sure there must be NGOs/charities, working in the area of Kerala's waterways; there must be something that is needed that you could do.

I'd suggest Alleppey might be a better focus of your attention, rather than Kochi. Kochi is a big city, Alleppey is a much smaller town, much easier to handle, and very much water-centric.

One other note of caution. Think Kerala: think trade unions. Think Kerala trade unions: think the worst examples of bad and restrictive practise in the British motor or newspaper industries of a few decades ago. Might make working in any industry there a little tough.


*I noticed recently that they are using polypropylene, and made a mental note to insist, on the happy day when I am able to commission a Keralan boat, that they do not use this nasty, short-life, easily-broken-down-by-sunshine material! It's cheap. I guess the original would have been coir --- which probably rots.

boatmasterlondon

thanks a lot for that nick-h.

yeah i would do volunteer work for a commercial company, just for the experience and also to get in with them, good contacts.

good heads up about the unions, it's bad enough over here with all that stuff. still if i get in with the boat people maybe i could jion their unions too.

they might like to have my subs.

i dont want to go over there to get paid realy, i mean how much does a bloke get for a days money. is it one pound? i dont know.

anyway the experience would be good, perhap my watermens hall or g.m.t union might stretch the hand of friendship across the ocean.

thanks for the angle of unions.

and thanks for the links. i have just found some good maps online of kerala and all the info on states within it. i have just been drawing the borders on the map as so to help me study the various states tonight.

thanks for your help, cheers.

any more info would be great, anybody.

cheers.

steven_ber

You would be putting a local out of work.

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boatmasterlondon

yeah, you might be right, even though i will only be there for one month.

you know what, sack it. i will just take my inflatable kayak and start in kollam and paddle to ernakulam or maybe the other way round.

thanks for your help.

edwardseco

That would be a great trip..

boatmasterlondon

thanks, yes i am realy looking forward to it now.

i might take and wear my uniform white shirt with my eppelettes and cap to wave and say hello to the fellow boatmen on the backwaters.

hopfully i will get to know some of the boatmen and make some freindships on the river.

still lots more research to do, i am looking of going next feb.

thanks and cheers, alex.

LilBoy BigTown

My suggestion, go with an open mind withour much expectations. If you can find some short term work, that's great.

If not, you have still had a great time pedalling through the back waters.

boatmasterlondon

absolutly, i agree, not to much expectations, i would be happy just to eat regulary. if i can get to help out on a boat for the day that would be great.

but i mostly want to explore the backwaters now and get to meet nice people and talk with the local boatmen.

but of course if an offer came up i would consider doing volunteer work on a boat, just for the experience.

so i will keep this posted just in case a boatman is looking for a new british best friend and boatman apprentice.

cheers, alex.

Nick-H

And women! It is a whole-family thing ---of necessity when it is so much a part of life!

boatmasterlondon

interesting. it would be good to help out somwhere, i am getting ideas coming to me.

haydn

just one word of warning. tried rowing in varanasi and the damn boat didn't have rowlocks! just went round in big graceful circles!... so i'm sure the boats in kerala will be a real blow out for you too. enjoy! oh, and please don't wear the epaulets...they'll ALL be wearing them in no time! i'll feel like i'm in a weird beattles trip. and india is trippy enough without that!

Nick-H

No rowlocks; paddles, not oars. Surprisingly big boats are paddled/punted.

I have a mental picture of someone standing in a large boat and rowing*, and I think that what's-it's-name pin might have been involved. Thole pin? Thung Pin? Something beginning with a W....





*but it might be from somewhere else