Darius Habitation, known as La Coulisse

Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Darius dwelling, also called La Coulisse or "Daus house", is a former colonial exploitation founded at the end of the seventeenth century in the valley of the Grande Rivière des Vieux-Habitants, on the island of Basse-Terre in Guadeloupe. Originally dedicated to the cultivation of coffee, it included a bonus shop (coffee processing site) and mechanical facilities, some of which still remain today. Its buildings, terraces and hydraulic equipment illustrate the agricultural techniques of the colonial era.

The property is listed as historic monuments on 20 April 1990 for its heritage interest in the agricultural and colonial history of Guadeloupe. The site preserves significant remains, such as the walls of the bonification plant, a auget wheel, rinsing ponds and pilons, showing the stages of coffee transformation. A large paved terrace and the ruins of a main house, a kitchen and a boucan (dryer) complete this set, partially restored in 1990.

The Darius dwelling reflects the typical organisation of the Antillean plantations, where agricultural work was based on a servile labour until the abolition of slavery in 1848. Its bypass channel, dug to power the machines, and its buildings in stone and wood covered with sandstones (shafts) show the adaptation of European techniques to the tropical context. Today, the site offers a material testimony of the economic and social dynamics of the colonial period.

Although the archives do not mention any specific historical figures related to this domain, its inscription in the title of historical monuments underlines its role in the collective memory of Guadeloupe. Preserved equipment, such as manual depulpator and hydraulic wheel-operated pilons, allow you to understand the artisanal processes of coffee production before they are industrialization.

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