The most influential model for this project was the community of Gaviotas in the Savannah of Colombia. The book, Gaviotas: A Village to Reinvent the World, by Alan Weisman, tells the story of Paolo Lugari and his coordination of developing a tropical utopia that applied regenerative design to boost Colombia's economy, reforest a "wet desert" and integrate the local culture in all their initiatives.
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."
http://www.friendsofgaviotas.org/Home.html
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