David Hall – Fort Cochin

Right next to the Parade Ground in Fort Kochi, facing an open space and sprawling into the streets is David Hall, one section of a
three-part 300-year-old Dutch bungalow. It is an art gallery and a café, both rolled into one. The white-washed building was once home to Dutch commander Hendrik Adriaan Van Reede Tot Drakestein who is best known for his ‘Hortus Malabaricus’, a book on the flora of Malabar Coast. It is currently named after David Koder, a Jewish merchant, though. Recently, the gallery held the Exhibition of Eco Products and Solutions. This was a venture of the CGH Earth group of hotels as part of its environment week celebrations. And what could one find here? Bags made of water hyacinth leaves, eco-friendly plastic toys and artifacts recycled from old plastic bottles, wool bracelets, tribal art paintings and photographs by various artistes.

Kodungalloor-based Kottapuram Integrated Development Society (KIDS), the organization that sold bags and tablemats from water hyacinth, also had products made from natural fibres such as banana, palm leaf, screwpine, paddy straw and jute. A star attraction was the Oyster Festival, held by CGH Earth along with the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) and the Kudumbasree. The visitors could watch and learn about oysters in seawater and how they are processed.

The ‘thorthu’, a thin, wafery native version of a towel, was sold by Kara. These are much in demand abroad – quite useful as they dry faster than the thicker ones. The CGH had set up a miniature paper recycling unit. Here, old newspapers were recycled – the paper is first shredded, and then mixed with natural fibrous materials like pineapple stalk. The manually-operated press is fed with the pulp. Later, it is dried and made into sheets of paper. At Spice Village, a CGH resort, there’s a full-time press where women recycle paper. The entire hotel’s stationery is made up of this recycled paper.

Emmanuelle Faussart Odye is a French artist settled in Kochi, and a follower of the recycling art movement. She displayed recycled plastic toys at the event – a neat spaceship whose parts were a Harpic bottle, hairbrush comb and bottle caps. She doesn’t even glue as it is a chemical. Instead, the toys are held in place by used bottle things and knick-knacks.

What most people stopped at was EarthCafe – not another exhibition of art, rather the art of good food, if you wanna call it that. Fresh seafood was served in varieties of flavours and smells. Oysters were the specialty. You could also pick up a plate of prawns, stir-fried seafood, sardine kebabs and others.

Such festivals add colour to the gallery. People who visit the place can learn about Dutch architecture and culture, too.