Las Gaviotas: proving sustainable living possible where it shouldn't be

The community of Las Gaviotas ('Gulls' in Spanish) is two days drive into the middle of nowhere.

Forty years ago a brilliant young dreamer, Paolo Lugari, decided that for once he wanted to see the sustainable dream made into reality, and while flying over the 'wet desert' of Los Llanos in his native Colombia was gripped by the vision that if you could live sustainably there you could do it anywhere. So, gathering a team of scientists, artists and indigenous Guahibo people, together they founded a community that has consistently achieved the impossible, innovating and adapting decade after decade. 

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.

Doing the impossible

Lugari is the undeniably charismatic founder of Gaviotas. A large-framed man, his solid features break easily into an infectious grin, betraying the childlike playfulness and...

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