The barracas of the fishermen of Óbidos Lagoon

The Óbidos Lagoon Interpretation Center and the Colectivo Guarda-rios have joined forces in an artistic project to build a replica of an Óbidos Lagoon fishermen's "shack".

On the south shore of the Óbidos Lagoon we still find today some local fishermen's huts, used to store fishing gear and to rest.

But the first huts in Óbidos Lagoon appeared at Ponta da Ardonha, near Braço da Barrosa, more than 200 years ago.

They were built by the "Varinos", fishermen who came from Murtosa, in the district of Aveiro, in their first migrations. They were known as the "barracas" of the fishermen and had a different format and function than the huts of today.

During the eight months that the Varinos spent in the Óbidos Lagoon, these huts served as their living quarters - "there they cooked, slept, and kept what little they had.

Of them, today only photographic records and old memories remain.

Estate of Vítor and Clementina Silva. Caldeirada (social gathering) next to Joaquim Malhoa's fisherman's hut in the 1970/80s.

At the end of October, during four days, elements of the Riverkeeper Collective, with the support of the Foz do Arelho Parish Council and LPN, shaped the shack on the beach of Lagoa beach, in Foz do Arelho. Responding to the invitation launched by the Óbidos Lagoon Interpretation Center, several people came to meet the Collective to learn more about these structures and their construction.

Photo: Colectivo Guarda-rios.

The initiative, which was to culminate with a workshop on the morning of October 30, had to be postponed due to unfavorable weather conditions, on what was a weekend marked by strong winds and showers.

The structure was transferred to the interior of the Óbidos Lagoon Interpretation Center building, which is expected to open to the public soon.

It is there that it will remain on display, when completed, to tell more about the history of the Varinos in Óbidos Lagoon, how these structures were built, what they were used for, and how they evolved into the current fishermen's huts.

In January, the organizers of the event will get together again to hold the workshop, on a date to be announced in due course, and to conclude the work, with the participation of the public.

Stay tuned to our Agenda!

The Centro de Interpretação da Lagoa de Óbidos (Óbidos Lagoon Interpretation Center) would like to thank Coletivo Guarda-rios, OSSO - Residências Artísticas na Aldeia de São Gregório (Caldas da Rainha) and Junta de Freguesia da Foz do Arelho for their collaboration in this initiative.

Guarda-Rios is an artistic research-action project that intends, starting from riverside territories, to reflect on the different dimensions - artistic, cultural, social, environmental - of the relations of human beings with their natural and built (anthropized) environment. It is intended that the observation-listening-research practices, developed in residencies along different rivers throughout the country, reveal multiple dimensions of the local realities that will emerge, either through artistic works or through actions in loco. The Guarda-Rios project is supported by the Direção-Geral das Artes.

The Interpretation Center of Óbidos Lagoon resulted from a project of the Participatory Budget Portugal (PBP) coordinated by the League for the Protection of Nature in partnership with the Municipality of Caldas da Rainha, the Municipality of Óbidos and the City Council - Association for Citizenship.

For more information about the Interpretation Center for the Óbidos Lagoon, click here.