Way back in 1878, the swampy mangroves on the banks of the Vembanad Lake were cleared and the entire area was brought under coconut plantation. The man behind the operation was one George Alfred Baker son of Henry Baker of Essex who had come to India sixty years earlier to take up missionary work in Kottayam in the kingdom of Travancore. The Englishman was so fascinated by the beauty of Kumarakom that he settled here and made Kumarakom his home. Henry and his wife, Amelia, contributed greatly to the literacy that Kerala is so proud of today. Later developed into a Bird Sanctuary, Kumarakom is a popular leisure retreat.
