Clare McCormack was understandably apprehensive when last month her friend Andrew Wakefield told her about their trekking trip in India. The thought of a hike through a treacherous tiger reserve in an unfamiliar country may have been a deterrent but what alarmed the Briton was the clincher-seven hardcore criminals as escorts. The spirit of adventure, however, prevailed and the couple undertook the trip. They are glad they did.

ABLE ESCORTS: The poachers serve as guides to trekkers like McCormack and Wakefield (centre)

"We wouldn't have had such a wonderful time at the tiger reserve without these escorts." Clare McCormack, Tourist

"We saw herds of elephants, bison, boars, birds and just missed seeing a tiger. It wouldn't have been possible without the escorts who knew the jungle so well," says McCormack of the three days they spent at the Periyar Tiger Reserve in Thekkady, Kerala, possibly the last stand of tropical rainforests in the Western Ghats. The guides didn't just acquaint them with the labyrinthine forest and its wildlife but also carried their bags, pitched tents, cooked food and stayed up at nights to guard them.

Protecting people, however, was not always the concern of the seven guides who till about three years ago were poachers, exploiting the wildlife and sandalwood trees of the forest. Today, along with 16 others, they are engaged in guarding the forests they once plundered. For, apart from guiding the tourists, they maintain a strict vigil to help catch offenders. "Having been one of them, we are familiar with the habits and routes of the poachers," says P.J. Thankachan, a sandalwood smuggler who is now the chairman of the 23-member Eco-development Committee comprising reformed poachers. Last year, the committee, whose members each faced 12-15 cases related to poaching, hunting and smuggling, won the Green Guard Award instituted by The Junglees, a Kolkata-based NGO.

SAFE MOORINGS: Since they are familiar with every tract of the forests, the poachers are proving themselves able guides

# Twenty-three former poachers have become forest guides. More want to convert. # With steady incomes and access to loans, the reformed men refrain from illegal activities. # The number of poaching incidents has fallen from around 60 a year earlier to about three now.

The plaudits are creditable considering the radical transformation which began in 1998 when the World Bank-funded India Eco Development Project was launched by the Kerala Forest Department. A part of the Rs 40-crore project undertaken by the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests in seven states, it strived to involve the local community in forest management. As with most rehabilitation projects, the endeavour was believed to be doomed; the poachers, people felt, would eventually return to lives of crime. On the contrary though, the project has been a big success in Kerala. However, the response in other states was lukewarm.

The offenders have been irrevocably lured to a new way of life by the social acceptance, steady income and security that the project offers. "We can now live peacefully with our families as we are no longer pursued by the police and forest officials," says M.C. Surendran, who had 16 poaching cases registered against him. Most cases have been withdrawn by the Forest Department and many more poachers are now waiting to enlist as guides. Families too are celebrating the conversions. "Earlier, we were looked down upon in schools. Not any longer," says Sabeena, daughter of one of the former poachers. And showing off her new concrete house in Kumili, Thankachan's wife, 37-year-old Alice, says, "This is unbelievable. Earlier, we didn't even have enough to eat." The Forest Department also conducts literacy classes for committee members.

The guides earn about Rs 6,500 per month, up from Rs 2,000 only three years ago. Half the salary is deposited in the Welfare Fund that has swelled to Rs 25 lakh. The corpus facilitates loans to members for buying plots, building houses and buying autorickshaws, among other things. "This is to help sustain the guides during lean seasons and prevent a backslide. If they return to poaching it will be very difficult for the rangers as they are now familiar with our weaknesses," says the sanctuary's Assistant Ranger K.J. Jyothi Kumar.

For the present, the project has come as a boost for the state's tourism industry. Attractively packaged as a trekking project, the Periyar Tiger Trail is immensely popular with foreign tourists, especially those who are environmentally conscious. When the project was initiated with a grant of Rs 2.87 lakh, forest officials had to persuade a private tour operator to sponsor it for Rs 8 lakh per year. Today, sponsors are hankering to be part of the project, so much so that global tenders had to be invited for the renewal of the three-year contract this year. The project was bagged by the Thiruvananthapuram-based company, tourindia, for Rs 69 lakh.

The expenses, including the guides' salaries, are paid by the sponsors who, in turn, earn through the fee of $150 (Rs 7,200) per day that each trekker is charged. About 40 foreign tourists have undertaken the trek in the past four months. The tiger trail begins at Thekkady and covers 20-35 km depending on the route selected in the 55 sq km trekking zone. To minimise the impact on the ecosystem each group comprises a maximum of 20 persons every week.

With an average of 12 foreign tourists every month-the figure is expected to double soon-the sponsors seem to have hit the jackpot. "Since July, we have had about 40 foreign tourists. Such packages are popular among the discerning tourists who believe in responsible tourism," says Babu Verghese of tourindia, adding that the bookings from abroad have not stopped even after the US began its operations in Afghanistan.

The reformation has also come as a boon for the forest authorities as the management of the 777-sq km sanctuary has become much easier. "Earlier poaching incidents numbered 60 every year, but now they have drastically reduced to two or three as the guides also help in apprehending other poachers," says Kumar. "We recognise prospective poachers even before they enter the forest," affirms Thomas Kutty who had 13 cases registered against him. "They give themselves away when they buy more than the usual quota of tobacco powder from the market. They use this to drive away the blood-sucking leeches. Moreover, they carry a special bag that is useful in smuggling out forest produce."

The best indicator of the project's success, however, is the acceptance that society has accorded to the reformed criminals. P.J. Koshy, poacher-turned-guide, is an elected member in the Kumili panchayat. "The rival candidate asked people not to vote for a kattukallan (forest brigand). My stand was that though I had been a kattukallan once, I wasn't one any longer. I had the third largest majority in the panchayat," says Koshy. He is usually busy with panchayat work now, but when he has the time, he continues to guide trekkers and guard the forests.