The Code of Comunidades, or to give it its formal name "Legislative Enactment No. 2070 dated 15th April, 1961" which is an existing law gives insight into the workings of the comunidades.
In comunidades where there are shares (accaoes) women do get their share of the dividend or Jono. In other gauncarias, where there are no shareholders, women do not get Jono. Before trying to make radical changes to the code, we should try to understand why our ancestors enacted this code which existed even before the arrival of the Portuguese in Goa. The Portuguese only formally codified it. The Comunidades protected the lands, the bunds (dykes) and the sluice gates. These were built by our ancestors by the sweat of their brow with no heavy equipment to aid them. Irresponsible legislation has slowly seen decline in the lands, the bunds and the sluice gates. The so called farmers associations which are supposed to maintain the bunds and the sluice gates are unable to do so. Neither is the comunidade in a position to do so as there is no income from the fields due to the "land reform" acts which have destroyed farming, particularly rice farming in Goa. Tony de Sa
