Goa, a biodiversity hotspot, is bordered by the Western Ghats to the east, the Arabian Sea to the west, and is crisscrossed by around ten rivers. These rivers and water bodies are part and parcel of our ecology, history, culture, and identity as a whole. But, seldom do we give attention to these oral histories and stories related to rivers.
These narratives are important as they encompass collective wisdom and may offer insights on how to tackle challenges like climate change.
SHARED THOUGHTS
A group of 30 young individuals from Goa, including students, artists and researchers, has come together to share these stories through 18 interactive and immersive story-projects under Goa Water Stories.
“These interdisciplinary multimedia projects present hyper-local narratives, amplifying voices from the ground,” says curator and the brains behind this project, Wenceslaus Mendes.
This project documents water-related narratives in Goa. These stories are thematically linked to the Western Ghats, the monsoon water cycle and watershed, water bodies such as rivers, lakes, tanks, wells, khazan lands, and the coastal ecosystem.
The media objects produced by the cohort include illustrations, photographs, texts, videos, audio recordings and maps. This initiative aims to raise awareness of Goa’s diverse water heritage and promote sustainable and equitable solutions for managing shared water resources for future generations.
All the content of the project is under Creative Commons.
Goa Water Stories is an interdisciplinary community arts and civil initiative that commenced in March 2023 through an ‘Open Call’ for a small grant, offered as a fellowship, to support research on water, ecology, climate change, and its impact on communities in Goa.
These stories are thematically linked to the Western Ghats, the monsoon water cycle and watershed, water bodies such as rivers, lakes, tanks, wells, khazan lands, and the coastal ecosystem.
It is a collaboration with The Centre for Public Policy and Governance at the Goa Institute of Management (CPPG-GIM); The Manohar Parrikar School of Law, Governance and Public Policy at Goa University (MPSLGPP-GU); The Sunaparanta Goa Centre of the Arts and The Living Waters Museum (LWM) which is a digital platform launched in 2017, to document, curate and communicate the rich and diverse traditions of water heritage and practices in India and build a repository of visualised knowledge.
It is a member of the Global Network of Water Museums (WAMU-NET), endorsed by UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Hydrology Program in 2018, as a special initiative to foster greater awareness of Sustainable Development Goal 6, through education and outreach.
ENGAGING YOUNG MINDS
Mendes states that the aim of this project is to engage with young people of Goa through workshops, skill sharing, research, site visits to initiate and facilitate a conversation around water, ecology and the impact of climate change on our communities and livelihoods.
This project will have its soft launch at Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Pune, on March 5 and in Goa it will be in August.
A group of 30 young individuals from Goa, including students, artists and researchers, has come together to share these stories through 18 interactive and immersive story-projects under Goa Water Stories.
Some of the topics that these 18 projects highlight are – The Impact of Tourism on Morjim; The Socio-Cultural and Environmental Challenges in the Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary; The Saltpans of Pernem; The Wells of Goa; Pastoralism, Millets and the Ecology of Western Ghats; The Biodiversity of Mangroves along the Mandovi; The Rivers (Sal) and our plateaus (Socorro), etc.
Mendes states that in coming times they are planning to have outreach engagements, seminars, and exhibitions.
“This is because of the collaborative nature of this project with the various institutional partners,” he mentions.
“Currently, we are understanding our learning from the making of this ‘first chapter’ of Goa Water Stories, and are devising how to continue and build a ‘Chapter Two’. Towards this, we require continued support from the community and institutions of Goa,” he adds.
To know more about these 18 projects that tell stories of Goa’s water bodies, visit https://goawaterstories.livingwatersmuseum.org/home