The Kerala Government has included the Konkani-speaking Kudumbi community in the State in the pro-poor Parivarthanam project, to free traditional fisher community from the exploitation by intermediaries.

The State Fisheries Department will directly procure fish, including the Varapuzha variety of pearl spot, from the fishermen of the Kudumbi community. The move will be carried out under the commercial ‘MIMI Fish’ initiative. The programme also foresees lifting the living standards of the traditional workers and delivering their unadulterated fish to consumers.

MIMI Fish

MIMI Fish was launched in August last year as a retail venture with online home-delivery service in association with the Kerala State Coastal Area Development Corporation. This was after the government floated Parivarthanam in November 2020 as a pioneering eco-sustainable programme for the development of its fishing communities.

As for the Kudumbis, the community settled in Kerala three centuries ago, having migrated from Goa and other parts of the Konkan coast. Initially taking to farming after settling down in Kerala, the Kudumbis slowly lost hold of their fields, forcing them to shift from paddy farming to other means of livelihood. A chunk of them found refuge in fishing in inland water bodies. In Ernakulam district, the Kudumbis form the second-biggest community in coastal Varapuzha panchayat.

The Kudumbis invented unique ways of fishing, enabling them to catch the endemic pearl spot (karimeen) on a massive scale. Venturing into the backwaters on small country-boats, the men in groups of three or four would employ special fishing techniques that involve hard labour and skills. The Varapuzha karimeen also fetches good price at the local market.

Ending malpractices

However, much of the remuneration evades the catchers, as the Kudumbis fall prey to intermediaries in three tiers. MIMI Fish envisages a permanent end to all such malpractices.

For this, MIMI Fish has opened a procurement centre at Blue Bazar in Cheranalloor near Varapuzha. The fishermen workers can give their catch straight at this market. In cases where the catch is heavy, authorities are arranging facilities to procure fish at the spot where the boats reach the shore, Parivarthanam Project COO, Roy V. Nagendran said.

Currently, MIMI Fish has stores in Kollam district, with two more opening in Perinjanam and Kaipamangalam of Thrissur district recently. Authorities plan to open more MIMI stores across five districts: Thrissur, Ernakulam, Kottayam, Idukki and Palakkad.

MIMI outlets use DC chillers with battery support, ensuring continuous power backup even during power failures. The chillers have an option to be connected to solar power, which ensures uninterrupted power supply up to three days if electricity from the KSEB grid is not available. This helps maintain the quality of fish. Parivarthanam also safeguards the environment and mitigates climate change by promoting clean energy sources through solar power generation and conversion of fossil fuel engines to electric hybrids and other alternatives.

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