|
I've read it twice and I'll probably read it again sometime. I just love it. I want to live in Gaviotas. This is one of my favorite books. I recommend it to anyone who will listen.
MUST READ. Wonderful book, highly recommended, inspiring. A real look at sustainable development in a highly unlikely place in the world.
It is an obligated reading for all of those who care about sustainability and renewable energy and wonder whether there is an alternative for our society.Read this and you will be full of hope and energy for action. This is an amazing story about an amazing REAL place.
I highly recommend this eye-opening bookBarbara Spring Even the children got involved in problem solving in Gaviotos.They have learned to live in a place where there are many dangers due to drug wars, yet their survival skills are exceptional. This book shows people solving ecological problems as a community. Weisman engages the reader by showing the people involved, not only the ones with training in certain disciplines, but also natives with practical solutions for living in a Columbian village.
That could take longer and be a little more expensive---perhaps. You can contact the Gaviotas offices in Bogota, Colombia. On the other hand, if you are a garage-tinkerer and would delight in building the clever devices described, this book is close but no cigar. If you primarily want the ideas and the inspiration, then buy the book, by all means. If you are a tinkerer and want to build these "goodies," you have three options. The vision described in the book is inspiring and very hopeful.
If the reader is looking for great general ideas or approaches, this book would be hard to beat. You can, of course, also take the basic idea and think through the details for yourself. The idea is to use our ingenuity in ways directly adapted to our environment so that small towns can be self-sufficient. In the U.S., you can e-mail with the "Sustainable Village" web site and get the plans (eventually---they are not quick in responding). If you primarily want to tinker and build, go straight for the plans. Along the way, very clever uses of wind and water are discovered and described.
The drawings offered in the book purposely omit the most important details required to fabricate the devices in a proper working form.
|
