Ratnagiri Study Summary

Compilation of The Settlement Study

We, the students of A21, had visited Ratnagiri on settlement study work. Upon reaching the site, we were divided into groups which would be looking at 5 aspects of how life works at the site and how there is a relationship between work, economic activity and building form. Broadly, the ‘Physicality of Habitation’. The 5 groups were Village, Economy, Construction, Houses, and Cultural. The site chosen for study was in the village of Sadamiriya, along the White Sea.

The Village group

They were asked to study and measure a piece of land, with the sea on one edge and the backwaters on the other, where the local deity of Mahapurush was situated. This stretch of land saw a variety of contrasts between people, spaces, and their lifestyles.
We started with measuring the village site with a standard stride (approximately 1 meter) and started measuring the dimensions of the village. We took 2 anchoring points, the main road where the temple of Mahapurush sat and the road which ran by the coast.
We marked the roads in between them. They ran into homes and backyards and front yards and again merged with each other.

We saw the houses there were transformed, according to the needs of the families and as the years passed by more rooms got added there, so that the whole family could live close to each other. That’s the reason the houses constructed there weren’t planned. After locating the roads, we moved to locating the houses and measuring them in strides. Followed by the trees there. All the houses are interconnected, and anyone could pass through them, talk, sit and eavesdrop. The conversations flew from one veranda to another. That’s when something occurred to us. There were no roads there. They were just empty spaces between the houses.

The Economy group

Our Economy group made developments into understanding the business, works and the weaves of the industries, etc. Ratnagiri has fish industry as a main economy. Fishes as an economy gives opportunity for various other businesses too for e.g.: ice, raw materials like wood fiber to make boats and nets for catching fishes. Other than fishing they have coconut, mango and dry fruits as a selling product for their side income.

The jetty has 2 types of boat -local and large boats. Jetty has a main platform where all the auctions and storage take place. There are two types of auctions one is for locals and second for larger companies. Also, where the fishermen are from, where they live right now, the malaks, how the boats are made, the fishes that were to be exported to different parts of Maharashtra or for the Auctions were sent to the industries for processing.

We studied the import and export of Vegetables happening in Ratnagiri. Various vegetables and fruits are sold on high and small scale in vegetable markets and weekly markets respectively. Some vegetables are brought from Mirya gao, whereas some are from outside Ratnagiri. Mangoes are the main source of income there. Also observing the houses there we came to know that it is a densely populated area where big buildings also occupy small areas.

A major plot, named “Kaumudi”, almost as big as one-fourth of the whole site, had these well-defined boundary walls and a clear sense of separation. But the rest of the settlement didn’t.
There were invisible boundaries that existed between them, only the inhabitants were aware of. Even a tree had its owner and there was a mutual sense of understanding among them. Unlike what we experience in the cities, these houses and spaces were more organically spaced, had grown over the years and had fallen into place.

The Construction group

The Construction group was expected to study construction technology of the village. The way in which a house is constructed from scratch, the minute joineries and unique techniques with which they are built and also generating an estimation of the cost required to build it. From the foundation to the roof, we researched how it’s made, where to get the materials and how it is different from the method used generally in metropolitan regions.
We observed that the materials used here are almost identical to what we use in cities but there’s a distinctive stone found in the Konkan region especially in Ratnagiri i.e., Laterite (referred to as Cheera). It is the substitute used for bricks and cement blocks. It is strong, heavy and porous. It can be joined simply through concrete. This material brings a huge difference in structures in Ratnagiri and other regions.

We then collected information about the materials used in the making of a house, how much a material is used, what will be the total expense, where these materials are collected or manufactured from and who makes these houses. We learned that prior to Cheera, a different material was used to build these houses, known as Karel-Phadi.
Foundations here are not generally column foundations but beneath a house there’s a whole bed of laterite, walls are being stood at the edges of this bed which are also made of laterite and concrete.
To make roofs first a wooden grid is made consisting of various parts such as purlins, rafters, battens, etc. On this grid there’s this fixation of Mangalorean tiles. Normally every other house here has a courtyard, veranda, separate rooms for worship and external washrooms which is rare to see in rural areas.
To conclude, we studied how a standard liveable structure in Ratnagiri is made, with what amount of cost and labor. Also, what are the steps involved and how everything works.

The House group

The House group's first task was to study and understand the older houses of the village (particularly roofed with Mangalore tiles). For that first we interacted with the people there to get a sense of who these people are, their ROUTINES, the main source of INCOME, the BOUNDARIES of the house, and the RELATIONSHIP between the people living there.
To understand the houses better, we made plans and sections. While making them we learnt some houses had multiple kitchens, some had so many doors providing access to each corner of the house that the term 'PRIVACY' wasn't really paid attention to. Some houses had extensions like CHULS, ANGANS, etc indoors and outdoors for multiple reasons.
Further, as we extended our plan to the houses' surroundings, the term 'BOUNDARY' didn't exist.

Sections helped us understand the making of houses, construction details, contours, proportions, and scale of walls, rooms, furniture, and flora as compared to that of humans.
The newer houses that are being built now are concrete based and have a modern approach to defining purpose to every room unlike the old ones.
Overall, from these 5 days' study we understood that the village is experiencing a huge flux due to occupations changing which has in turn brought changes in the economy and in these houses regarding their built form, lifestyle and other factors.

The Cultural group

The drawings of the plans and sections of the boats was an interesting task. Sitting in the scorching heat of Mirya, on the boats along the shore every day to get each and every measurement correct in our drawings was very challenging and truly a new experience. Study of the construction of the boats and drawing them on paper as plans and sections was something we learned in depth.

Interacting with people knowing their schedules one couldn’t notice the cultural objects that have much significance in people’s lives. We also studied the interiors of the house. How these objects come together can definitely be seen through different perspectives. From the small details to the multiple photo frames on the wall, the separate space for spiritual activities, and how all these things brought the whole house and wadi together.
It was also interesting to learn and understand the behavior of different animals and to follow the different routes they traced along the day. A striking thing one would notice in the wadi is the cat population, which was really huge in number. Heard some stories about some specific cats. To sum it up, it was really amazing to follow the routine of someone other than a human being.