Leading Heritage Walks in Kerala — A Volunteer's Story

I grew up in Fort Kochi and took its colonial architecture, its Chinese fishing nets, and its layered history entirely for granted. It was only when I began leading SPIC MACAY heritage walks for visiting students that I truly saw the place I had lived in all my life. Researching each site, reading colonial-era accounts, speaking to elderly residents — the preparation transformed me as much as it has hopefully transformed my participants. I have now led over forty walks and each one teaches me something new about the place I thought I knew.