Heritage houses in Goa, built during the Portuguese colonial era, are recognized for their intricate woodwork, tall windows, elaborate facades, spacious courtyards, and colorful tiles. These homes serve as historical treasures, reflecting Goa’s cultural and architectural heritage. Owners play a key role in preserving the historical integrity of these homes. They often use traditional materials like lime plaster, red-tiled roofs, and wooden beams instead of modern alternatives, ensuring that their homes retain their original charm and authenticity.
Up-keeping the past in the present
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The role of heritage house owners in Goa is vital to the preservation of these architectural gems. Their efforts ensure that Goa’s rich history is preserved, allowing these homes to remain living testimonies of the region’s past for future generations.
“The balcão, balconies, windows and furniture are some of the important features of Goan homes. As far as maintaining the historical integrity of my property is concerned, we follow the traditional ways of preservation, like our ancestors did,” says Irwin Antão, owner of an ancestral house in Chandor. Most old homes do not meet modern functional requirements like attached toilets, A/cs etc, and thus residents have to often compromise on their comforts. There is a big problem to source materials and craftsmen for restoring heritage houses, he says.
“We follow simple procedures of yearly maintenance of the roof by spraying insecticides and also exposing it to the sun without the tiles. All I hope is that the government someday creates a separate fund for maintaining old traditional houses like ours,” mentions Irwin with optimism.
DIY Maintenance:
The dignity of labor
With a shortage of domestic help, heritage home owners, like Ranjeev Fernandes from Cotta, Chandor, often take on the responsibility of maintaining their properties themselves. “I personally fixes roof leaks, ensuring the home remains intact, especially during the monsoon,” says Ranjeev, who has opened his house to public viewing.
Many families practice adaptive reuse of these heritage homes to generate financial support needed for ongoing maintenance. This helps them to preserve the homes while adapting to modern needs.
Engagement with Heritage Conservation Bodies
Heritage house owners often collaborate with local heritage conservation organizations, government agencies, and NGOs to ensure that laws and policies are in place to protect these homes. These efforts help raise awareness about heritage conservation in the community.
Challenges in maintaining heritage homes
“Most heritage houses in Goa are built out of mud and plastered in lime. Goa being a land of heavy rainfall these walls have to be well protected, which means the roof has to be maintained very well to avoid leakage to prevent the mud walls from getting wet. Now maintaining the roof is an extremely expensive affair given the high cost of timber and labor now a days,” says Glenn Rodrigues, owner of a century-old-house in Utorda. Further, he explains that the second danger is termite. “Since the roof structure, false ceiling and all doors, windows, wardrobes and wall cupboards are of wood, these have to be protected by regularly carrying out pest control treatments, which is again an expensive affair,” he adds.
Glenn personally removes cobwebs and regularly cleans everything in the fear of damaging the antiques if given to laborers. “Varnishing the furniture from time to time, cleaning the antique curios, rearranging them and making sure that any damage to any part of the house is immediately repaired’, is something I keep my watchful eye on,” says Glenn.
Homeowners’ role in maintaining homes for tourism
Homeowners are responsible for maintaining the architecture, antique furniture, and cultural elements of their homes.
Traditionally, tenants and servants took care of home upkeep, but today, owners are often involved in the physical work themselves.
Passed down through generations, these homes represent familial pride and are vital to Goa’s tourism industry.
Well-maintained homes attract visitors, helping preserve Goa’s history and promoting local and global interest.
