An Invitation to Visit Gaviotas

Gaviotas, a village of about 200 people in Colombia, South America, is not necessarily about small houses but there are some there. It is about living with a small impact on the earth yet has a big impact as a model of sustainable living.

Gaviotas Mural

So far, few outsiders have managed to visit this special place. But public order is making a comeback in the region, making it possible for the village to invite 30 people for a fully hosted day visit. In addition, Gaviotas founder Paolo Lugari is inviting visitors to a second day of events in and around the Gaviotas office in Bogotá. As of 25 Jan there are 14 people signed up and 16 spots remaining. You can learn more about Gaviotas and the trip from the Friends of Gaviotas, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit formed in 2002 to facilitate North-South research exchanges and get-togethers with Gaviotans.

Gaviotas is a village of about 200 people in Colombia, South America. For three decades, Gaviotans – peasants, scientists, artists, and former street kids – have struggled to build an oasis of imagination and sustainability in the remote, barren savannas of eastern Colombia, an area ravaged by political terror. They have planted millions of trees, thus regenerating an indigenous rainforest. They farm organically and use wind and solar power. Every family enjoys free housing, community meals, and schooling. There are no weapons, no police, no jail. There is no mayor.

The United Nations named the village a model of sustainable development. Gabriel Garcia Marquez has called founder Paolo Lugari the “inventor of the world.”

Watch this video about Paolo Lugari.

Read or listen to an interview with Alan Weisman, author of “Gaviotas: A Village to Reinvent the World.” If you are not familiar with this book, it is a must read:

more reading:
Las Gaviotas Journal – An Isolated Village Finds the Energy to Keep Going – NYTimes.com

Sense & Sustainability: A utopia made real in Colombia

Learn more about Gaviotas and the trip from the Friends of Gaviotas.

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