The rural people of the backwaters of Kerala depend on the rivers and canals for irrigating rice and coconut groves, fishing, boat and water-taxi transportation, and wash cook ware and themselves (women wash themselves in covered slanted houses along the water). The bounty of crops is reflected in the vegetable markets. They also support themselves through boat-building and operate former rice barrages for Indian and foreign tourists alike.

Sand is extracted from the waterways for construction material. The colonial Dutch organized the many canals, locks, and dikes which irrigate the extensive rice paddies of Kerala.

Local artists capture the village life. Christian churches still outnumber Hindu temples here, but notice the Muslim women in the boat along a row of palm trees.