The legendary "Cabin in the Water" was a little hut on stilts in the south-caribbean sea of Costa Rica. It was built in the 1970s by a resident of Cahuita town, the late fisherman Mr. Bato, after a substantial part of the town's coast became declared a National Park by the Government, forcing traditional land owners off their land. In an act of creative resistance, Mr. Bato built his cabin just a few meters offshore of the piece of land that used to belong to him. Back then, the result was a huge confrontation between the National Park's administrator and the Afro-Caribbean people of Cahuita, represented by Mr. Bato, both sides claiming that their rights had been infringed upon. While Mr. Bato lost his case, it is important to acknowledge that Cahuita National Park has later adopted the shared governance policy, and up to today is working closely together with local society who is benefiting from the National Park.
The legendary cabin is documented in a historic photograph, and Mr. Bato and his building inspired Costa Rican Calypso King Walter Gavitt Ferguson to compose the nation's most famous Calypso "Cabin in the Water". Though the original hut was tore down over 40 years ago, Mr. Bato's cabin - immortalised through Mr. Ferguson's Calypso - has become an important reference for Afro-Caribbean history in Costa Rica, and a cultural asset of the whole nation.
BY SIGNING THIS PETITION, you express your GENERAL SUPPORT for the IDEA OF REBUILDING of the original CABIN IN THE WATER on it's historic location, as a HISTORICAL MONUMENT (not inhabitable), UNDER THE PREMISES that such a project could be realized without negative environmental impact on the highly valuable Cahuita National Park and in accordance with applicable laws and regulations.
