On Tuesday of last week, I traveled to the legendary (modern) settlement of Gaviotas in southeastern Colombia. Our group left Bogota in a small military transport, and one hour latter we landed on a grass-covered runway. Gaviotas, located in the watershed of the Orinoco River, is a massive forestation project that is designed to support a self-sustaining populous.
As we flew, I was impressed with the size and flatness of Colombia’s Orinoco savannas, or grasslands. It was easy to locate flowing water, as the narrow riparian areas along the streams had completely different flora, brush and trees in lieu of grass. The riparian zones looked very much like veins on a leaf. As we neared Gaviotas, I was amazed by the size and scope of the area’s tree planting efforts. The thick man-made forest stood out in marked contrast to the surrounding savanna.
In 1971, a group of Colombian visionaries and technicians decided to show the world that they could survive in a difficult environment, the Orinoco savanna. Despite the constant threat of Colombia’s political upheavals, Gaviotas is now the setting for a very hopeful environmental success story.
Paolo Lugari, the settlement’s charismatic founder, describes Gaviotas as a topia (not utopia) because it is real, not a dream. The area includes 20,000 acres of planted Caribbean pine trees whose sap is refined onsite into resin, turpentine, and biofuel. These end products provide 80 percent of the settlement’s income. In the shelter of the millions of pines–a renewable crop–something unexpected has occurred: the generation of a very diverse tropical ecosystem.
Onsite Gaviotans also produce bottled water. They pump groundwater from 100 feet using a specially designed windmill to lift the water. Before being bottled, the water is treated by microfiltration and UV. Additionally, Gaviotas residents are developing a woodcarving industry.
According to an article titled Village of Hope: “It became clear to us that most of the successes at Gaviotas were not the result of brilliant planning but of a trial and error process, replete with wrong turns and detours.” This is a point that is made over and over again. There is no master plan, just people working together to improve their lives. Individual innovation is encouraged. “We are in eco-development, not eco-preservation,” according to Paolo. Gaviotas has been highly publicized, most notably in the book: Gaviotas: A Village to Reinvent the World.
More about Gaviotas to come.
Definition: topia (n): 1. the ideal made real (derived from utopia); 2. world view based on universal compassion.
According to an e-mail from Lily Scott (send 3 Mar 10):
“I was struck by the consciousness of this community (Gaviotas) which has existed for 40 years. It is not about the incredible sustainable technology, or the collective knowledge of the group that propels them into the future, rather it is their sense of community. It is their strength in not knowing–not the knowing–that carries them through the next obstacle with strength and eloquence.”
In the community of Las Gaviotas we saw that some very ordinary people have made extraordinary achievements.
This raises a puzzling issue. How could less than 200 uneducated villagers live healthy lifestyles without:
a government,
information media,
universities,
doctors,
scientists,
banks,
economists,
church,
justice system,
weapons,
competition,
conflict
Is it possible that the above institutions – considered indispensable to our contemporary ‘civilized’ societies – are bogus?
Are those in positions of authority and power in our governments acting in accordance with the best interests of the people and society or those that pay for their election campaigns?
Are the information media in constant search of the most relevant news stories while always exposing the villains to society? Are they following up until such villains are extinguisher and/or ostracized?
Are the universities educating the youth to get jobs that are needed by our societies? Are they coming up with new technologies to be shared by society or the professors sell out to large corporations that encumber such technologies or sell them at exorbitant prices?
Are doctors preoccupied with eliminating diseases with the least cost both in monetary terms and side effects?
Are the scientists trained to think critically, holistically and, if warranted, take positions against the economic interests of those that fund their research?
Are the banks using their assets, statistics and information networks to make sure that the businesses and people have the necessary capital and information to succeed in their careers and businesses? Are they generating wealth for the communities that they serve or net profits for their top executives?
Have the economists managed our resources responsibly and created sustainable, wealth-generating systems? Is the majority of the population living a carefree lifestyle without the threat of an impending economic recession or even collapse?
Are the churches effective in showing love and caring to their faithful followers? Have they taken an active position to the eradication of war? Are they using their huge financial reserves to create programs for the starving to be able and produce their own food?
Are the lawmakers educated specialists, well informed and capable of crafting laws? Is the police as effective in prosecuting the criminals that cause damage to society as to the lawful citizens that forgot to put on their seat belts or went a few miles over the speed limit in a perfectly safe hi-way? Are the lawyers honest and committed to the pursuit of justice? Are the judges accountable, well educated, impartial and capable of delivering justice? Do prosecutors relentlessly go after crooked politicians as well as they do in prosecuting black and Latin boys that are selling dope? Does the rehabilitation system rehabilitate the criminals and give them the tools to get a new lease in life?
Are the armies using their weapons to eliminate crime, unfair businesses and oppressive governments all over the world or they often attack innocent civilian groups and wreak havoc in entire populations?
Is the spirit of competition a driving force superior to the spirit of teamwork, mutual support and transparent collaboration?
In cases of conflict could turning the other chic work better? Is there a better way than the infamous American Justice?
Considering all the above and having spent a day at Las Gaviotas, I would rather vote for the Gaviotan Dream.
The problem though is that the voting system does not work.
I believe that talk is cheap and countless hours of elegant discussions won’t get us anywhere. So, five years ago, I have decided to do my part in finding and applying solutions for what I see as the four major problems of contemporary societies:
Transparent teamwork
Health
Water
Organic food
There are many solutions and if we join forces, we can create miracles and make the necessary difference. For a number of my own reasons, I have chosen to work on these solutions in Panama but each one of us can do it at home.
In my opinion, we should all make good use of our Gaviotas experience and commit today to start doing – not just talking about what needs to be done. There is no more time to waste. The piper is here now.
Michael Buick, who traveled to Gaviotas in the group I was in, wrote the following for the “Ecologist:”
“Its (Gaviotas community) creative engineering was a reflection of the community as a whole. An ‘all-archy’, Gaviotas has no conventional hierarchy. One year guerrillas arrived, guns in hand, demanding to know: ‘which of you is in charge?’ ‘We all are,’ was the reply as the community lined up. Asking the commandante if his men intended to take anyone hostage, he replied: ‘No, our orders are not to touch anybody here. What you are doing is too valuable.’
Decisions (in Gaviotas) are made collectively by consensus and not once in four decades has a memo been circulated or minutes taken. There is no police force. No official rule book.”
“Despite achieving an almost mythical status in the seventies and eighties, winning accolades and worldwide attention, Gaviotas has largely dropped off the sustainability radar, isolated by Colombia’s political violence. Until recently. I joined the first visit for years in March to see the remarkable place for myself.”
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