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Ganv Bhavancho Ekvott
Chandor, Goa, India
​<http://chandor.org/>

Ganv Bhavancho Ekvott (GBE) works with the people of Chandor and the surrounding areas of Goa on a variety of community activities. It was established in 2008 by a group of residents seeking to preserve and share their heritage, including artefacts rescued from construction sites, historical documents and photographs, domestic furnishings, and settlements lost to the forest. They seek to create personal, social and ecological collaborations that raise awareness of the area’s history and preservation through workshops, heritage tourism, and publications.

Chandor rice fields.

Konkani-Portuguese architecture.

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Chandor was earlier known as Chandrapur and had a port on the Kushavati River, which emptied into Mormugao Bay on the Arabian Sea. It has been a settlement for at least 2000 years, as part of the Satavahana, Bhoja and Kadamba Kingdoms (serving as capital of the two latter), as well as a Portuguese centre of trade and settlement. The remains of temples, fortifications and dwellings are found throughout Chandor. The area was surveyed by archaeologist Henry Heras in 1929. Three historic Portuguese mansions are still inhabited, and the resident of one, John Fernandes, was an archaeologist who worked with Heras. GBE is certified by the Registrar of Co-operative Societies, Government of Goa, under the Co-operative Societies Act, Registration No. 85/Goa/2008.

Some of their work includes –

•  Community outreach through multiple initiatives, such as setting up workshops for staff and community members.​

•  Interviews with elders in the community, including those who live in the elder care home. 

•  Expressive arts and work on partnership publications to share knowledge. 

•  Ecological regeneration, sustaining an ecological balance through community education, outreach, public displays, and workshops. 

Nandi bull sculpture at Shiva Temple.

Ballroom of Braganza House.

Excavated artifacts.

Braganza House.

Sakshi Saldanha, a student intern from the Symbiosis School for Liberal Arts and its Collaborative for Asian Ethnography (Pune), spent an internship in June 2018 with GBE, making an inventory of their materials, along with photo-documentation and oral history interviews. 

This is an on-going project. Interns may work on special projects with GBE. Their primary job will be the development of an inventory of heritage resources in the Chandor area. This will include documentation in a variety of categories, including archaeological, historic and architectural sites; archival materials, such as letters and diaries; photographs and artwork; artefacts; oral history; and other materials.

Sakshi, Eugene and Shaibya Saldanha, and John Coutinho of GBE doing fieldwork in Chandor at the Coutinho House.

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Photographs from Barry Rodrigue, spring and summer 2018.