The Rope Maker from Kerala

by Salil Konkar

During our first visit to Siolim, when we were looking at the farmers working in the paddy fields, Stacy had mentioned about this person who had migrated from Kerala and had set up a rope making workshop in Siolim, just across the paddy fields. We had decided that it would be interesting for all of us to meet him; accordingly, Stacy set up a meeting with him at his home, which is in the same premises as his rope-making unit, for 14^th Jan 2008.

And so there we were, at Mr. Joseph Vadakel's workshop, talking to him about his decision to move to Siolim from Kerala (not a very obvious choice I thought – most Keralaites would have preferred to move to the Gulf, just as many people from Siolim do too), his experiences in Siolim and more specific information about – you guessed it – rope making!

Mr. Joseph took us through his life in Goa, which had spanned more than three decades already, how he came to a boarding school in Guirim as a student, took up a teaching position later (he taught physics), and later set up the rope-making unit that he was kind enough to walk us through, explaining to us and showing us firsthand the entire rope-making process. It was interesting to note that the raw material for the rope was brought in all the way from Kerala and not from Goa or other neighbouring areas.