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Gaviotas, A Colombian Utopia
The “Llanos” of Columbia is one of the most inhospitable grasslands in the world, formed 10 million years ago following a huge tectonic shift that changed the course of the Amazon river. Today it is a sun-scorched land, occasionally battered by infrequent rains. Only the visionary will of Paolo Lugari could manage to build something so extraordinary as the village of Gaviotas in this land. It is a remarkable model of sustainability and a challenge to the future, which will see many areas of the planet transformed into arid plains.
Gaviotas, meaning “seagulls.” What do seabirds have to do with Paolo Lugari’s idea of sustainability?
Some people say that the name of the Gaviotas village comes from something Lugari himself saw thirty years ago when he visited the Llanos for the first time: seagulls gliding in the skies of that desolate savannah.
Utopia, however, is not a word to be found in the vocabulary of this Colombian of Italian origin: “Not Utopia, but, rather, Topia. In Greek, the prefix “u” means “not.” Literally, Utopia means no-place but Gaviotas is real. We have moved from imagination to reality, from a no-place to a real place.”
Words that might sound rather empty if it weren’t for the fact that today the village of Gaviotas is here for all to see, sustaining a community of over 3,000 people.
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