Don’t Destroy Our History: Fight to Save Traditional Lanzarote Coastal Hut
A tiny stone hut on the coast of northern Lanzarote has become the unlikely centre of a growing battle over the island’s heritage — and campaigners are determined that it should not disappear.
The Choza de los Barcos at Playa de Seifío, near Mala and Charco del Palo, is facing demolition under Spain’s coastal regulations. But for the family connected to the building and those supporting the campaign, this isn’t simply an old structure on the shoreline.
They say it is a piece of Lanzarote’s history.
And now they are asking authorities to give it a chance to survive.
“We are talking about our history”
The traditional coastal hut is associated with local resident Emiliano Ventura, whose family has longstanding connections with the property.
Believed to have been standing for generations, the small building is a reminder of a time when life in Lanzarote was closely tied to the sea.
Fishing equipment, boats, nets and other everyday necessities were once part of the landscape around these coastal structures.
Today, many visitors travelling around Lanzarote’s coastline might barely notice them.
But remove them, campaigners argue, and another physical connection with the island’s past disappears forever.
Another Lanzarote coastal hut has already gone
The concern has become particularly urgent following the demolition of other traditional structures in the Haría area.
Two coastal huts were demolished within the space of a week, including one at Caleta de Escamas and another close to the Seifío area.
That has prompted renewed fears that more historic coastal buildings could follow.
For supporters of the campaign, the issue is no longer about one building.
It is about what happens to Lanzarote’s remaining traditional coastal heritage.
A last-minute reprieve
The Choza de los Barcos was due to be demolished on 28 August.
However, the planned demolition did not go ahead after Ventura lodged an appeal against the decision.
Around 50 people reportedly gathered at the site as the community attempted to prevent the hut from being removed.
For now, the hut is still standing.
And that has given campaigners an opportunity to fight for its future.
Why can’t it simply be protected?
This is where the story becomes more complicated.
Spain’s Coastal Law (Ley de Costas) provides strict rules governing Spain’s coastline and the public maritime-terrestrial domain.
The legislation is designed to protect coastal areas and ensure public access and use. Buildings and private occupation within these areas can therefore be subject to restrictions, authorisations and concessions.
So the argument isn’t simply about whether an old building is attractive or historic.
There is a legal framework behind the authorities’ actions.
But campaigners believe there should also be room to consider the cultural and ethnographic importance of traditional coastal huts that pre-date modern development.
Could Lanzarote’s coastal heritage be worth saving?
Environmental campaigners have called for traditional huts such as these to be recognised as part of Lanzarote’s ethnographic heritage.
There have even been suggestions that surviving buildings could potentially be given new uses connected to culture, traditional fishing or walking routes along the coast.
And this is where the story becomes particularly relevant to both Lanzarote residents and tourists.
Because what makes Lanzarote special isn’t just its beaches.
It’s the old fishing villages.
The volcanic stone walls.
The traditional houses.
The salt pans.
The agricultural landscapes.
And the remnants of a way of life that existed long before Lanzarote became one of Europe’s most popular holiday destinations.
A petition has now been launched
A petition calling for the Choza de Emiliano to be saved was launched on 30 August.
It calls on the relevant authorities, including Spain’s Ministry for Ecological Transition, the Canary Islands Government and the Cabildo de Lanzarote, to explore every possible legal option to preserve the building.
One proposal is to investigate whether it could receive some form of heritage or ethnographic protection.
The campaign is gaining attention as residents and supporters argue that demolishing these structures risks removing an important part of Lanzarote’s identity.
More than an old hut
To someone seeing it for the first time, it might simply look like a small, weathered building beside the Atlantic.
But that’s precisely the point.
History doesn’t always come in the form of grand monuments and museums.
Sometimes it’s a tiny stone hut overlooking the ocean.
Sometimes it’s an old fishing boat.
Sometimes it’s a building that local families have known for generations.
And once it is demolished, no amount of photographs can completely replace what has been lost.
What happens now?
For the moment, the historic coastal hut at Playa de Seifío remains standing, following the appeal against its planned demolition.
The petition continues to call for its preservation while campaigners hope that the authorities will consider whether there is a way to protect the structure within the existing legal framework.
The outcome could have significance beyond this one small building.
Because Lanzarote is constantly having to balance coastal protection, development, tourism and the preservation of its unique heritage.
And the question being asked by those behind this campaign is a powerful one:
When protecting Lanzarote’s coastline, should we also be protecting the stories of the people who lived beside it?
For now, the little hut at Seifío is still there.
And the fight to save it has only just begun.
An AI Generated Image has been used in this Article
