The Kovalam Surf Club is located in the small tropical tourist destination of Kovalam in the Indian state of Kerala. The surf club and was founded by Oneill surfer and Belgium social worker, Jelle Rigole, in 2005 as a part of the Sebastian Indian Social Project. SISP is a community development centre that has been active in the area since 1996 and strives to improve the harsh living conditions of the poorest by offering them free education, medical care, food support, old age care, micro credit unions, literacy classes, training and work in handicraft units. 

​

The idea behind the Kovalam Surf Club was to get the children of SISP off the streets outside of the school hours and to act as an extra motivation to keep these kids going to school on a regular basis. ​The main rule to participate in the surf classes is:

"No school - No surfing". 

​

The Kovalam Surf Club started off with three old boards and five to ten kids who were eager to become good surfers. At the beginning the kids were not used to taking care of the equipment. Therefore every week there were boards to be fixed and cleaned up. The children learned how to repair the boards themselves and soon came to appreciate and value the equipment more so. 

One of the biggest challenges the Kovalam Surf Club has faced is the tourism police and the local lifeguards. The youth members of the surf club only know a life with a history of violence and poverty and therefore the children acted like products of their society. These children were not welcome on a beach that is reserved for tourists which is still well protected protected from the dark side of India. The surf groms had to learn to behave in what one might call a 'civilised' way in order not to get sent away by the authorities.

Today, the Kovalam Surf Club has around 30 members and is a registered sports club, becoming the first official surf club in India.  Foreign tourists as well as locals are impressed by the surf skills of the local surfers and are really stoked on riding the waves as well. The demand for surf lessons has never been so big as surfing in India is taking off. Some of the older boys will soon be able to make a proper living out of surfing by offering surf lessons, guided surf tours, board rental and ding repair services. Two of the boys from the surf club are now making a living by working at a boutique surf-centered hotel called Soul and Surf in Varkala Beach providing surf lessons and taking tourists on guided surf tours in addition to helping in the hotel's cafe. 

Thanks to sponsors and befriended surfers the surf club now has a surfboard for every child and an appropriate surfing outfit such as boardshorts and rashgaurds. The children have their own club house on the roof of a local cafe where equipment is kept safe.

The local authorities now know the surfing children and respect them as long as they behave appropriately which they have learnt to do. The key point is that all the surfing kids are regular at our school and therefore will get a better chance in succeeding in life in a more humane way. But surfing also makes them proud and happy because for the first time in their life they get respect and attention for being good at something.