Conceicao Moreno is a descendant of agricultural workers, of whom many were brought by force from other African nations to Sao Tome and Principe to labour on colonial-era plantations.<\/p>\n
“My grandmother lived here, my father was born here and I was born here too. It’s our heritage, in a way,” Moreno said, pointing to the crumbling walls of the former Sundy plantation on the island of Principe.<\/p>\n
It is one of six “rocas” (pronounced ro-ssas), or plantation estates, that were built on slavery and forced labour and\u00a0added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List last month.<\/p>\n
Most of the “rocas” have been abandoned, presenting a major preservation challenge for the small archipelago in the Gulf of Guinea.<\/p>\n
However, they have drawn interest from private investors keen to develop the tourism potential of the buildings steeped in history.<\/p>\n
Established by Portuguese colonists in the second half of the 19th century, the plantations intensively cultivated sugar cane and later cocoa and coffee.<\/p>\n
They initially used slaves who were later replaced by contracted labourers forced to live and work in harsh conditions.<\/p>\n
Sao Tome, off Africa’s west coast, had a steady supply of slaves passing through as the last staging post on the trade route before ships left for the Americas.<\/p>\n
After Portugal abolished slavery in 1869, workers became “contract” employees, brought, often by force, from other Portuguese colonies — Angola, Mozambique and Cape Verde — as well as Gabon and the Congo.<\/p>\n
The “rocas” had agricultural land, industrial infrastructure, residential areas and social facilities, UNESCO said.<\/p>\n
They illustrate “the operation of a large-scale colonial agro-industrial system, based on forced migration and labour” from the late 19th century to the mid-20th century, the UN culture agency added.<\/p>\n
Sundy plantation still has its old stables with their fortress-like appearance, a Portuguese colonial-style manor house, small white-stone chapel and a row of “sanzalas” where plantation workers lived.<\/p>\n
They bear witness to a darker past when the estate was a nearly self-sufficient system of booming agricultural production.<\/p>\n
The buildings “preserve the collective memory of Sao Tome and Principe from the colonial era to the present day”, the two-island nation’s culture chief Emir Boa Morte said.<\/p>\n
“Some have already disappeared since colonial times, others have been merged, there has been a decrease. But despite all that, there are still around a hundred of them,” he added.<\/p>\n
Nationalised by the country’s Marxist-Leninist rulers in the late 1970s, the “rocas” were privatised in the 1990s but failed to survive the economic decline of the world’s former leading cocoa producer.<\/p>\n
The vast majority of the “rocas” — some still inhabited by former workers and their descendants — are little more than run-down buildings, often unsanitary and overgrown with weeds.<\/p>\n
The forebears of Moreno, a 46-year-old member of the National Assembly, were “servicais”, or contracted workers, shipped from Cape Verde to Sundy plantation in the highlands of Principe island.<\/p>\n
He is one of a few who stayed at the sprawling site after it was bought a few years ago by HBD (Here Be Dragons), an investment fund founded by South African entrepreneur Mark Shuttleworth.<\/p>\n
“I’ve never lived anywhere else, so I like being here. There’s a very strong cultural connection,” said Moreno, whose home is now separated from the plantation by a guardhouse and barrier.<\/p>\n
The old plantation owner’s mansion has already been turned into a five-star hotel and the workers’ houses will become extra bedrooms once the renovation is complete.<\/p>\n
“We are creating beautiful hotels where hundreds of people can work. Nobody was using the old ‘rocas’ in the way they were supposed to be used in the old days; the new use of these ‘rocas’ is so important,” said Egbert Bloemsma, CEO of HBD Hotels.<\/p>\n
“It’s important we do our part, renovate the ‘rocas’, preserve the old building, preserve the culture that was here.”<\/p>\n
The hotel group owns two former “rocas” on Principe.<\/p>\n
UNESCO recognition is expected to breathe new life into efforts to preserve the historical heritage.<\/p>\n
“We are in the process of mobilising almost the entire population of Sao Tome,” said Boa Morte, from the culture ministry.<\/p>\n
“Whoever visits the ‘rocas’ will see that there has been a change since they were elevated to the status of World Heritage of Humanity,” he added.<\/p>\n
“In five to 10 years, 10 more ‘rocas’ could join the UNESCO list.”<\/p>\n
Sao Tome and Principe has launched a 10-year plan to restore the buildings from their state of disrepair and find new uses for them.<\/p>\n
But new investment will not “erase the history”, insisted Boa Morte.<\/p>\n
“The story of these ‘rocas’ must be told. There will be a combination, a union between the past and the present.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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