GOAN FISHERMAN

Bounded by the coast, Goa's pristine sands and palm lined shores from Tiracol in the north to the southern most tip at Canacona, are some of the world's most beautiful beaches like Calangute, Colva, Benaulim, Palolem among the few.

The main occupation of the people along the costal villages was fishing. Except during the monsoons, the fishermen used to venture out to the sea in wooden boats.

Nestled among the coconut tree plantations, along coastline, the fishermen used to build a temporary shack made from coconut trunk rafters and leaves. Here they would repair their nets and store their nets, oars, anchors etc. The floor of the shack is covered with sand and sprinkled liberally with shells to prevent moisture.

GOAN COCONUT HUSKER

Think of Goa and a coconut tree cannot be missed out of the picture. Coconut cultivation, is one of the main moneymaker in many villages.

Apart from the coconut, the principal derivative of this ubiquitious tree is its sap "toddi" - used to distill the local liquor Feni, but other parts of the tree are put to good use, too. The copra oil squeezed from the young nuts is used for cooking or sold to soap and cosmetic manufacturers; the coarse hair surrounding the shell produces fiber for rope, coir-matting and furniture upholstery; dried palm fronds make baskets, brooms and thatch, while the wood from the tree used to make rafters for houses. This versatile plant has around 287 different uses.

At the vast coconut plantations of the "Bhatkar" landlord, the "Padkar" coconut plucker used to pluck the coconut by climbing each tree. The coconuts have to be plucked every three months.

His work entailed husking the coconut fruit with a spear (Kublo). He managed to husk eight hundred coconuts a day. This husked fruit was sold to households for preparing food as well as for extracting oil.