From traditional knowledge and rural livelihoods to digital storytelling and sustainable tourism, Dr. Preethi Hari Babu is exploring how Palmyra can remain relevant without losing its connection to the communities that have carried its traditions forward.

The Palmyra palm has long been part of the cultural, ecological and economic landscape of Tamil Nadu. It is connected to traditional occupations, food practices, local knowledge and rural livelihoods, but the knowledge surrounding it can easily become disconnected from younger generations if it is not documented, experienced and carried forward.

Dr. Preethi Hari Babu is working at the intersection of these questions. As the Founder of Aetram Commune and a Faculty member in Tourism Studies at Pondicherry University, her work brings together tourism, heritage, education and community-based knowledge, with a particular interest in understanding how Palmyra can contribute to sustainable tourism and future livelihood opportunities.

Seeing Palmyra as Living Heritage

Preethi’s approach looks beyond the Palmyra palm as a natural resource. The focus is on the larger ecosystem of knowledge and communities surrounding it.

Traditional occupations, indigenous practices, Palmyra-based cuisines, ecological knowledge and rural livelihoods all form part of this heritage. Bringing these elements into tourism requires more than simply presenting them to visitors. It requires understanding the communities behind them and creating experiences that respect their knowledge and participation.

This perspective also places Palmyra within a wider conversation about rural tourism. Rather than treating heritage as something that belongs only in museums or historical records, Preethi’s work explores how living traditions can become part of meaningful educational and tourism experiences while continuing to benefit the communities connected to them.

Creating a Space for Different Perspectives

One of the clearest examples of this approach came on 30 September 2026, when the PG and Research Department of History and the Department of Tourism and Travel Management at Ethiraj College for Women, in association with Aetram Commune, organised a national seminar titled “Rooted in Heritage, Powered by Technology: Building Sustainable Palmyra Tourism.”

The seminar was held as part of the World Tourism Day 2026 celebrations and was aligned with the theme of using digital technology and artificial intelligence to rethink tourism.

Preethi moderated the panel discussion, bringing together people with different relationships to Palmyra and community development. The panel included Rev. Godson Samuel, author of Panai Mara Salai; Antony Stephen, Assistant Professor at Madras School of Social Work; Pandian Panaiyeri, Chief Coordinator of the Tamil Nadu Palm Climbers Conservation Movement in Villupuram; Ram Kothandapanai, Founder of Uyir Moochi Kaatu Pannai; and Kesavan, publisher at Alar Veliyidu.

Their discussion examined Palmyra from several perspectives, including ecology, economy, social empowerment, human rights, traditional food practices and the possibilities for sustainable tourism.

That interdisciplinary approach was important because Palmyra cannot be understood through tourism alone. Its future is also connected to the people who work with it, the knowledge they possess and the rural economies that have developed around it.

Where Technology Meets Traditional Knowledge

The seminar also explored a question that is increasingly relevant to heritage work: how can digital technology and artificial intelligence help preserve knowledge that has traditionally been passed down through communities?

Digital tools can potentially help document practices, record stories and create new ways of presenting heritage to audiences. They can also make traditional knowledge more accessible to students and visitors.

But the discussion did not treat technology as a replacement for human knowledge. An important part of the conversation was recognising its limitations and ensuring that digital tools remain supportive of the communities and people whose experiences give heritage its meaning.

For Palmyra, this distinction matters. A digital record can preserve information, but it cannot independently replace the lived experience of the people who have practised, maintained and transmitted that knowledge.

Giving Students a Direct Experience of Heritage

The seminar also created opportunities for students to engage with Palmyra through activities rather than only through lectures and discussions.

Competitions included “Palm to Plate: Heritage Cooking,” “Palm to Product: Eco-Craft,” “Palm to Digital: Save Palmyra” and “Travel IQ in the Digital Era.”

These activities connected traditional practices with creativity, tourism and contemporary communication. Students were encouraged to see Palmyra not simply as something belonging to the past, but as a subject that can be explored through research, design, storytelling, food, tourism and sustainable livelihoods.

This educational dimension is central to the larger question Preethi is raising. If younger generations are going to participate in the future of heritage, they need opportunities to encounter it as something living and relevant rather than something distant.

Building Tourism Around Communities, Not Just Places

The seminar’s discussions also pointed towards a broader possibility for responsible Palmyra tourism. Such tourism could create meaningful rural experiences while supporting traditional workers, strengthening local livelihoods and encouraging greater awareness of ecological resources.

But this requires collaboration.

Researchers, educational institutions, tourism professionals, traditional workers and local communities each hold different parts of the knowledge required to build such an approach. Creating spaces where these perspectives can meet is therefore as important as the tourism experience itself.

Preethi’s work through Aetram Commune reflects this collaborative approach. The organisation describes itself as a multidisciplinary community working across nature, culture, creativity and social wellbeing, with an emphasis on responsible action, community participation and collaboration.

Keeping Heritage Relevant Without Losing Its Roots

The future of Palmyra heritage will not depend only on preserving existing knowledge. It will also depend on whether that knowledge can remain relevant to people who did not grow up with the same relationship to it.

That is where Preethi’s work sits. By connecting tourism research with community knowledge, educational engagement and responsible technology, she is exploring how Palmyra can be understood not simply as a symbol of the past, but as part of a possible future for rural tourism and sustainable livelihoods.

The question is ultimately larger than tourism. It is about how traditional knowledge can continue to have a place in contemporary life while remaining connected to the communities that created and preserved it.

For Palmyra, keeping that connection alive may be one of the most important parts of carrying its heritage forward.

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