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Khazans: Treasure troves of Ecology and Livelihood

Kamat, Nandkumar. (2004). History of Khazan land management in Goa: ecological, economic and political perspective. No conversation about water in Goa can even begin without talking about Khazans.  Khazans are pre-Portugese architectural marvels of estuarine agri-systems that were built by excavating reclaimed marshy land and turning them into water reservoirs. This system uses an intricate mechanism of sluice gates and bundhs to stop excessive saline water from intruding the smaller water bodies and the paddy fields. This helps preserve the fertility of the soil and also creates adequate conditions for rich biodiversity to grow in its ecosystem. 

A reservoir  formed by sluice gates and adjoining paddy fields in Aldona, Goa

STRUCTURE & GOVERNANCE:

Khazans are made by creating openings from the rivers into reclaimed marshy lands and placing wooden sluice gates or ‘manos’ to control the flow of water from the river into the reservoir. The water gathered in the reservoirs is used to irrigate paddy fields and step farms which surround the reservoir but that’s not all, the khazan system is also used for pisciculture and for breeding crabs and prawns, due to the favorable level of salinity in the brackish water of the reservoirs and river. 

A bundh between reservoir (on the left) and the river(on the right), made with the excavated silt and clay from the reservoir

The wooden gates (as shown below) of the manos are managed and repaired by Gaonkaris or communidades, which are community-led rural land-associations that have managed the khazan lands since way before the Portuguese rule.  Since the pisciculture and prawn/crab cultivation in khazans near the manos is really high, each manos is auctioned by the communidades for as high as 4-5 lakh, a part of this money goes into the repair and management of the manos and bunds while the rest is divided equally into all the land owners and tenants of the khazan lands in the village. Communidades are based on the idea of collective ownership, which make them unique and differentiates them from village communes and other governing bodies. 

 The ‘teen-manos’ or three gates leading upto a Khazan land in Quitula, Bardez

“The most important aspect of the structure of these lands is based on the principle of salinity regulation and knowledge of the tidal clock. The structure of these lands depends on their distance from the nearest watershed and the tidal estuary. In other words it is the control of balance between the availability and flow of freshwater(rainfall+aquifer):saline (estuarine)water that determines the existence of the Khazan lands.” Kamat, Nandkumar. (2004)

PRESENT SCENARIO:

The Khazan agriculture, pisciculture and salt production combine to make it a hotbed not just for ecological diversity but also for a variety of livelihood opportunities for different communities in the villages. Although, the decreasing focus on labor-intensive paddy farming and increasing demands for fish, crabs and prawns are wrecking havoc on the agriculture in khazans. The paddy fields are often left inundated with water for long stretches of time to increase the fishing activity in the area. This is not only causing loss of fertile agricultural land but also decreasing the natural flood protection that the khazan lands provide to the areas surrounding them.

The situation is further being deteriorated by the increasing pressure to reclaim the Khazan land for urban development projects, like the long standing dispute about Konkan railways and the many highways that run through the length & breadth of the state. 

Khazans, as Mr. Nelson Figueiredo the Director of Goa Horticulture Department tells me, “were made by humans to work with nature and not against it”. They are not only unique architectural & ecological heritage but also a great example of decentralized resource management, that have over the time evolved itself from being a landlord-led governance to an all-inclusive system that gives as much rights to tenants and their descendants as it gives to the landlords. With the increasing anthropocentric activities, the pressure on Khazans increases and it might not be long before they are on the verge of vanishing or converting their form and function, just like the traditional water systems in cities like Bangalore have. 

Further in the project, I will look into ways in which Khazans can be preserved with all of its multipronged activities and ecology working in tandem with each other. 

(With inputs from Sushant Figueiredo )

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NANA’S STORY Storyboarding: Work in Progress 

The comic on Conservation of indigenous knowledge and infrastructure of water conversation talks about the deep contrast in Goan villages in terms of water availability. Here, I show the contrast through a story of two cousins from different villages, sharing a summer together at one of their houses, due to the water scarcity in the other one’s village. I seek to answer the questions of - 

a) How did we get here 

b) Where do we go now

The major points of discussions have been taken from the conversations with Dr. Dattaram Desai and the other members of Jalyatra water conservation group.  Research: Pragya Priyadarshini Concept and Initial Storyboarding : Pragya Priyadarshini Illustrations(WIP): Aparna Remesh

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WELLS OF ALDONA : COMICS Wells of Aldona talks about Martha, a lady who comes back to her childhood home to find her well gone! Her grand-kids are on a mission to get their avo her well back and luckily for them, they run into Shashi, their avo’s old friend who has still clung tight to her well. What happens next? Read to find out! 

Research & Story: Pragya Priyadarshini Storyboarding: Pragya Priyadarshini & Utkarsh Chaturvedi Artwork: Utkarsh Chaturvedi

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WELLS OF ALDONA

My first introduction to in-house wells was unfortunately through a dysfunctional well right next to the parking lot in my apartment complex. The building, I had learnt was fairly new. How could the well have ruined so soon then? Upon further prodding my nose into neighbors’ affairs, I got to know that the apartment complex was actually built after the demolition of a 100+ year old house, that belonged to one of my neighbors, Ms. Pascoal D’Souza.  The house, that Mr. D’Souza’s grandmother had built, withered when the family moved away for work and education. When the house couldn't bear its own weight, the D’Souzas decided to bring it to ground and make an apartment complex instead. The apartment complex saved the land but ruined the well. We now have 24 hours PWD water-supply and the well lies dysfunctional, overgrown though still not dry. 

This is not the story only from the D’Souzas, Its true for so many other houses in this inland village of North Goa. With the alarming rate of outward migration and increasing number of apartment complexes coming up, how soon will it be till be see this age-old practice of ground water utilization being ruined?

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Wells right by the kitchen window are a unique feature of Goan houses. My neighbour, Ms. Rodriguez uses her’s as her primary source of water, supplemented by tap water whenever needed.  She was the inspiration behind the character of ‘Shashi’ in the ‘Nital Goem, Nital Baim’ comic. 

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Discovering indigenous water-conservation practices  with Dr. Dattaram Desai

How does a doctor also become an activist devoted fully to the cause of water conservation? I met Dr. Dattaram Desai, also fondly called Nana, in his clinic at Savoi - Verem, to find out. Savoi -Verem is a sign of habitation after miles of wilderness, in Ponda area of Central-East Goa. Nana’s clinic, perched atop his house in a quaint corner of the village, has been running since last 39 years. “It’ll be 40 next year”, he humbly tells me.

Nana, though from Goa, was born in a village 30 kms from the village he practices in. While in his youth, he traversed the geography of Savoi-Verem and the surrounding villages on foot and was fascinated by the incredible ways in which the traditional water-conservation infrastructure was design. This got him interested in spreading this awareness further, specially to the communities which lived with and because of those water-bodies and conservation mechanisms.

Here are some key takeaways from my 3 hours-long conversation with Nana, in which he takes me through the history of water conservation in the Ponda area and shows me small defunct dams which can be dated back to 15th century.  The conversation also talks about Kudagar plantations and how the it’s irrigation mechanism works. Key Takeaways:  “I realised that our ancestors has left behind a lot of ways for us to save water and have it in plenty but we weren’t taking care of it. We barely even knew about them.”    

At first, Dr. Desai started exploring with a small group of his doctor friends and a few NSS volunteers from nearby schools and colleges. They would go to the nearby villages, work on the dysfunctional water-bodies and infrastructure that needed repairing or maintenance. “In the end though, we realized that if the villagers themselves didn’t want to do anything, we couldn’t really help them”.

 “After liberation people have stopped maintaining the resources that had been created centuries ago. The people now feel it’s the government’s duty. It used to be the community’s duty and people would come together to do the work” 

As the wells and the lakes dried up, people started depending more and more on tap water but this is an area with slopes and sometimes the water doesn’t go up very efficiently. People keep complaining to and blaming the MLA and the MP but nothing happens” 

A 6.5 acre area that used to be a lake once is now silted and left only with a puddle-like water body “While I was roaming around, I came across a place where a lake existed years ago but now, the entire area was silted and the lake didn’t exist anymore. That village had a major water problem and it intrigued me. I went and asked the older people of the community if there was a lake. They fondly remembered the lake, swimming in it and everything but now,  it had completely dried up.” 

‘I encouraged them to revive it, but they wanted the government to take responsibility. They didn’t even want to talk to me because they didn’t want to work on their own. So I gathered some of my like-minded friends and went their every Sunday to work on the lake. Later NSS volunteers from schools and colleges also started coming in. By and by, we managed to make a structure like a well there and water started flowing from it. When the villagers got water and that too without electricity, their eyes suddenly opened up. Men and women starting coming forward and we made groups for people to work- they worked everyday and we also came in on Sundays to help. Newspapers started covering it too and a lot of awareness was raised. People got to know that the dried up lake had water. This was back in 1996.”

A dam which is kept active by the villagers by introducing clay-gates

“After that, we contacted the government and asked for a more organised method of doing this. Back then, the NWDRPA had been launched- it had the idea of people’s participation in it, when we read the guidelines, we liked that they had given importance to indigenous knowledge. I became the Project Director for that program, we did a MOU with the agriculture department and we got funding. We worked on it for about 5 years. We made an NGO ( which is now defunct, since there was nobody to work in it), all the money from this scheme used to go directly to the NGO. It lasted for five years. We also got training from the government- at MANAGE in Hyderabad, in Ooty and in Dehradun. Later, when the work got done, the government changed and our knowledge was not put to any use. After the govt changed, the scheme was put in a cold box. It became difficult for us to explain to people that their money had stopped coming in. The scarcity was so bad in some areas, that 144 had to be announced when the tankers with water came in. This is what happens after each government changes . “ - “After all of this, I started thinking about what do we really know about Goa’s water resources and practices? I made a WhatsApp group called Jalyaatra to add people and decided to go to different places, where we could see the current water scenario and speak with people about how it was before and how it has changed and what can be done about it from our side. We started from our area and initially in the group, there were only my friends, some doctors, some engineers, some architects- just for fun and to see what really is happening. We did it for about 2 years and figured out the different water related infrastructures and practices that had been going on traditionally.”

“People will have to take the decisions into their hands The governments will keep changing and the policies and schemes of one government might not be applicable to the other government. Decentralised power is the only way to keep the projects running and for the people to get a sense of responsibility about their own resources.” LAKES – huge areas which are now silted or green fields, which used to be lakes and can be converted into lakes again if they proper embankments are created to stop the water from flowing away to the rivers  > visual of lakes converting into green fields without water. And smaller and smaller area being covered by water.

SURANGS: Big households &  Zamindars used to hire a man who came all the way from Kerala to dig a suranga or a hole in the mountain from where water would come out. He would go in the suranga alone with a candle and a tool in his hand and dig the mountain single handedly. 

        DEVACHI TAALS: All temples and mosques have water-bodies. Called devachi taal  by Hindus. If they are kept replenished, they recharge the grounds water resources for the other wells in the village as well. 

A devaachi taal called Budbudiya taal, in South Goa More about Jalyaatra with Dr.Desai, soon. 

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Go Goa, Responsibly!

Following are my notes from discussions with Ms. Puja Mitra, the founder of Terra Conscious and former head of WWF operations in Goa. Ms. Mitra has been working in the field of marine ecosystem conservation in Goa since a long time, with a special focus on responsible tourism.  Combining the efforts for responsible tourism with livelihood generation, her organisation Terra Conscious runs responsible dolphin watching  tours in partnership with boat-partners from local community on various beaches in Goa.  Some notes from our conversation on marine ecosystem and beyond: 

Terra Conscious

- TC focuses not just on Dolphins but on overall marine ecosystem in Goa, including corals, turtles, effects of mining and coal dumping etc.

- They work with lifeguards across the Goan cost to keep track of the carcasses found on the coastline and have also created maps based on this. They have an app called Drishti through which the lifeguards can connect to them. TC also makes sure the carcass is buried properly, and autopsy is performed if needed- although Puja is of the opinion that the Goan government is not yet equipped to do proper autopsies.

- TC is looking to map the scene of responsible tourism in Goa – where can you eat, what can you eat (like what fish to eat when), what activities you can do when etc. Its also a part of Center for Responsible Tourism in Goa.

Dolphins in Goan marine ecosystem : -  The humpbacks found in Goa are coastal dolphins, which means that they stay within the distance of 2-3 kms from the coast, they can’t dive deeper than 20mtrs and cant go further into the sea (This is also the area where most water sports and other tourist activity happens). These dolphins can hold their breath under water only for 7-8 minutes and the smaller ones can do it for even lesser. - Dolphins are very territorial and often when anthropogenic activity increases in one area they start moving to another area BUT they aren’t always welcome there and the weaker dolphins might be chased away, get lesser nutrition etc. - The major reasons why dolphins are harmed are killed are suspected to be: being caught in old, discarded nets, navy activity which disturbs the sonar-based communication system of the mammals forcing them to come into shallow waters, territorial nature. - Often boats surround and enclose the dolphins, which disorients them – its being done more and more as the number of dolphins decreases and the pressure on the boatmen to show dolphins to the customers increases. - Dolphins often have to changed their normal swimming course to avoid boats, this drains their energy and they cant do the other activities they need to do to survive, like socialising, hunting, feeding etc.

- Turtles and fish are harmed greatly by plastic in the ocean. Turtles are specially vulnerable because they eat jellyfish and often can’t differentiate between jellyfish and plastic flowing.

Licensing and Regulation Gaps: - There is no permission required from the forest department in terms of zones one can do the dolphin watching tours or water-sports in, or how many trips a boat can take, etc. Only a licence of commercial boat is needed. - There is a queue system to take the boat into water for these tours. This fails because on the busier beaches, there are upto 280 boats on one beach, all competing for the same area. A boat thus has to wait longer and longer to get its turn. This often makes sure that the boatmen go even into choppy waters or when weather warnings have been issued - Government has fixed the price at 300Rs for each trip, since the competition is so high and 300 Rs is not enough money, the boatmen give additional ‘services’ like alcohol and food onboard, often the advertisements have foreign female tourists with alcohol, along with the dolphins as an add-on? - The new Master Tourism plan (made by KPMG) has marked oceanic as well as land areas into strict zones with a lot of zones like that for sports overlapping with the dolphin and whale habitat.  

Coral Reefs 

- Often tourist boats that are not familiar with the coral areas go there and plant anchors at spaces which can severely destroy the corals, hit divers and kill sea animals. - Coral reefs also provide shelter for fishes and act as complete ecosystems for the marine flora and fauna. - In Goa, coal is being dumped as close as 7kms from the corals near the Vasco port. 

CRZ guidelines violation: - The CRZ rules put Goan coast line under their zoning number 3 which means that no construction can be done upto 200mtrs from the line of the high-tide. This rule though is being vehemently opposed by the shack owners, who want the CRZ buffer to be decreased to 50mtrs. - Its very ironic because the same shacks are the first ones to get flooded when  the water levels rise- which is happening more and more. On the Keri beach, shacks have been drowned twice in 2 months already.

-  According to the new master tourism plan, all these shacks will be removed to give license to big hotels to come up in their place. The government believes that the hotels will be more diligent in following rules. Although that has not been the case with hotels like W and Leela and the branches of Taj. W even has a sewer pipe that goes right into the ocean at the Anjuna beach.

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the storyboarding + rough sketches + the final comic 

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What it’s been like!

For the first 25 years of my life, I had carved a very safe distance between myself and Goa. My only frames of reference for what Goa has to offer were #GoGoa #partyallnight updates from social media and of course, the classic, Dil Chahta Hai. So when I was told that Quicksand is doing a project on Goan Heritage, I wondered what they were talking about except for the old Goan-Portugese architecture. Let’s just say I have come a long, long way since then!  I’ve transitioned from a person who thought for the longest of time that Goa the state might also have a city called Goa inside it, to  one who often drives upto 50kms at a stretch to attend meetups  about water-conservation that are often almost entirely in Konkani. I know more people who are 60 and above in my neighbourhood than I know 20-something in all of  Goa. They call me ‘the water-girl who lives in Honorato’s house’ and I can’t deny that I am secretly in love with the idea!

In the first two weeks of whats going to be a 3.5 month long internship, we explored different topics- right from migration trends to craft clusters to study and compare in different neighborhoods and topographies. I met craftsmen like Mr. Shankar Turi- one of the only proponents of the Azulezos art from in the country and looked through every traditional spice and paraphernalia related to cooking in the office kitchen. For a day or two I also considered capturing the unique typographic elements of the age-old lettering in areas like Fontainhas and in our very own village. In the end though, we decided to work on the ecological heritage of Goa. The initial idea behind studying water developed over evening walks next to the centuries old sluice gate systems in the nearby Khazan lands. The curiosity only increased when I discovered wells in office and apartment compound and was told that they are infact a rather common phenomenon.  

Working in this project, has made me mutant of sorts, inside the office I learn about things like writing screenplays and storyboarding for comics,  while out of it, I find myself speaking with marine biologists, activists, peeping into wells that are 100s of years old,  navigating my way through government offices and most majorly, embracing my hatred for driving two-wheelers! I can now drive for upto 15kms without a map, ladies and gentlemen.

The fact that I am involved in doing and documenting extensive primary and secondary research along with making the comics-series, not just makes my storytelling and visuals nuanced and hopefully more effective, it also justifies my position at the cusp of a design firm and a policy think-tank. Hopefully in the month and a half that are still to go for my project here, I will learn how to balance design research and policy research in my unique mutant-like way and create a manner of practice that can benefit from all my interdisciplinary skills.

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The Goan Water Project

The Goan Water Project is a part of the larger umbrella of ‘Reviving Goan Heritage’ project that looks at ways of public engagement in heritage  through mixed media, specially using technologies like VR, AR and MR.  It urges people to come out of closed spaces like museums and to experience heritage- architectural, ecological, culinary, musical and sartorial, in open spaces and through a wider lenses of technology. My role in the project is to create: a) Research and documentation of 8 major topics related to Goa’s Hydrological system, to be further used in the project either in Policy Labs or for the ‘Reviving Goan Heritage’ project b) A series of 1-pager comic strips on the above 8 topics, that could be used as methods of public engagement through publications and in outreach activities.

But why study water or the lack of it in a high-precipitation zone that has nine rivers flowing through it? Why study it as the part of heritage conservation? 

Goa, though abundant in water prima facie is steadily heading towards a water-scarce future. The abuse of resources along the coastal belt and by industries like hospitality and mining have created a jarring gap between the haves and have nots when it comes to water. The increasing developmental pressure and severely irresponsible tourism which promotes a very one-sided image of Goa does not do much to further the cause of conservation of Goan ecological heritage, specially water. This project is an attempt to study the peculiarities of the Goan hydrological systems and find ways in which the stories of water can be told to the people who’s water it is. The eight topics covered in the project range from the traditional khazan agri-system to responsible marine tourism and CRZ violations.

The 8-comic series is being directed by me(Pragya) and illustrated by 8 different artists in 8 different artistic styles.

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