Much of anthropological literature on social impacts of globalization focuses on urban centers, with rural sites oft-represented as passive hinterlands. This article shifts analytical focus to a rural site: Kumily in Kerala, India. Kumily’s proximity to a wildlife sanctuary involves many of its residents with the local nature-tourism industry and with environmental stewardship through a set of eco-development activities. I argue it is through such engagements that these residents adopt a cosmopolitan identity and develop a sense of environmental citizenship. This article views Kumily as an important global node where multiple notions of environmentalism and development converge. By specifically focusing on the environmental subjecthoods of indigenous youths who work as professional ecotourism guides, the article privileges the cosmopolitanism of the poor as a focal point of understanding social change in India.
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