On a warm afternoon on Goa’s Chorão Island, sunlight streamed through the slatted roof of a centuries-old kulagar — a traditional homestead garden system — where generations of families have worked, stored, and cooked. 

Smoke rose gently from a wood-fired chulha. The scent of freshly grated coconut mingled with turmeric and jaggery. A stone adoli (coconut scraper) sat in the centre like a relic with a pulse. Around it, strangers — urban professionals, travellers, home cooks — leaned in, sleeves rolled, grinding soaked rice into a smooth paste.

This scene was from a community kitchen workshop conducted by Heritage First Goa on November 24. However, the courtyard felt less like a demonstration and more like someone’s memory.

Historian and curator Amreen Shaikh had imagined it to be exactly this: a living, breathing experience where Goan food wasn’t just demonstrated but felt, where tools weren’t props but teachers, and where community kitchens could become a bridge between worlds. 

“For me, food has always been one of the most honest storytellers of a community,” says Amreen, whose work with her venture, Origins and Horizons, is dedicated to designing experiences around local voices and living heritage. 

“When Heritage First Goa approached me, it aligned beautifully with our mission. This workshop felt like a bridge between research and lived reality.”

Her goal was clear: to shift the narrative. 

“There’s a noticeable gap in how we speak about Goa’s tribal communities. Their food heritage, especially, rarely finds visibility,” she explains. “The story we wanted to address was simple yet urgent: that tribal food is not........

© The Better India