A 200-Metre Mural In Fort Kochi Puts Coastal Labour At The Centre Of Climate Justice

India’s coastal regions are shaped by continuous human labour. Fishing, mangrove restoration, shoreline patrol, and daily maintenance of fragile ecosystems form the backbone of life by the sea. However, these communities also sit at the frontline of climate change, facing rising sea levels, pollution, and unstable livelihoods. Which is sadly the only times these forms of work enter public conversation: when there is a visible emergency, even though they determine food systems, local economies, and environmental stability crucial to our existence.

It is from this context of invisible coastal labour and shared responsibility that Fearless Foundation for the Arts paints a 200-metre community mural on the compound wall of the Indian Coast Guard Office in Fort Kochi. As the biggest mural in the city, the work honours the interconnected ecosystem of people who safeguard India’s coastlines — Indian Coast Guard personnel, mangrove plantation workers, and fishing communities, placing them side by side as equal contributors to coastal survival.

The mural was led by artist and activist Shilo Shiv Suleman through Fearless, a South Asian institution working at the intersection of art and activism. Central to the project was an intergenerational group of 10 Fearless Ambassadors — artists, community leaders, and activists from India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Uzbekistan, and Myanmar — who came together in Fort Kochi to collaborate directly with local communities. The wall was painted through open community paint sessions where residents were invited to add their stories and labour to the work.

This approach reflects Fearless’ long-running climate justice focus area titled, 'At the Root'. The programme highlights women, indigenous groups, and coastal workers who are among the most affected by climate change but remain largely absent from mainstream narratives. In Fort Kochi, the mural grew out of listening circles, and story-sharing sessions in which collaborators spoke about ancestral knowledge, everyday risks, and the pressures of living with rising waters and pollution. The result is a visual archive of lived experience that shifts attention away from abstract climate statistics toward the systems that shape how land, labour, and bodies are treated.

The completion of the mural was marked with a Fearless Feast at the Coast Guard Office gate on Calvathy Road. The gathering brought together community members, artists, and supporters for an evening of food, music, and conversation, reinforcing the project’s emphasis on collective imagination and shared ownership.

Founded in 2012, Fearless Foundation for the Arts has co-created over 52 murals across more than 20 countries, using participatory public art to support civic dialogue and community-led storytelling. In Fort Kochi, that practice finds a clear purpose. The mural stands not as a recognition —making visible the people who hold the coastline together, and placing their labour at the centre of the climate conversation.

Follow the Fearless Foundation here and Shilo Shiv Suleman here.

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