Your holiday home in this tranquil world is the comfortably furnished houseboat or ketuvallom. The Houseboats or Kettuvalloms of Kerala are giant country crafts, measuring up to 80 foot in length, retrieved from being lost to the State altogether. 

Once these Rice Barges ruled the backwaters, poled along by one or two men, heavily loaded with rice, coconut and other commodities.  But in the recent times, the ketuvalloms or houseboats have been replaced by more and modern modes of transport, relegating them to neglect and decayIt takes great skill and meticulousness to construct these giant Houseboats or Kettuvaloms.
 
Traditionally, the Houseboats was called Kettuvallam, which means a boat made by tying together pieces of wood.  Unbelievably it may sound, not a single nail is used in the making of a ketuvallam.  Jack wood planks are joined together with coir rope and then coated with black resin made from boiled cashew nut shells.

Modified to meet a novel concept of holidaying, the kettuvalloms or houseboats are comfortably furnished with an open lounge, one or two bath attached bedrooms and a kitchenette, and are extremely eco friendly, merging smoothly into the panorama.  Every houseboat is manned by a crew - usually a cook, a Captain, and an Oarsman.
 
The kitchen in the houseboat or ketuvallam is the production center of the best traditional Kerala food.  The availability of fishes and all along the backwater add special charm to the authentic Kerala cooking.  Only fresh materials are used and purchased locally to support the economy of the village.  Only authentic Kerala food is prepared under high standards of hygiene and professional competency by expert cooks, who have been specially trained.