Dear Friends,

I just returned last night from an extraordinary trip to Colombia to see Gaviotas, the sustainable community started by Paolo Lugari that has, in the last 20 years, reforested 8000 hectares (about 20,000 acres) of barren savannah and provided a home and jobs for 2,000 Colombians. In the process of planting millions of Caribbean Pine (with seed brought from the heart of the ancient Maya civilization), miraculously, in the under story, 250 species of Amazonian rainforest flora have sprouted and are thriving.

The Gaviotans harvest several commercial products from the forest by tapping the pines for their sap (biodiesel and a resin, called colofornia, that is shipped worldwide for use in paints and pigments).

Rainfall has increased by 10% over the reforested land, providing a source of pure drinking water that they are now bottling in the former hospital. All of this work is accomplished via solar, wind, and people power.

Proceeds from the sale of the water go toward continued reforestation. So by drinking Gaviotas water (the only bottled water in the world for which this is true), one is paying to plant more forest, provide permanent jobs, produce biodiesel, wood (from the thinning process), and sequester CO2.

And now, the Colombian military has donated an additional 43,000 hectares of former military land - also in the savannah - to be reforested and on which to create Gaviotas II. The contributions of the ten of us who went on this trip will fund reforestation ($1,000 pays to reforest 1 hectare – 2.4 acres). We were able to visit the new site and hear about the amazing plans (thanks to ZERI and Gunter Pauli, its founder who was with us on the trip) for establishing an integrated biological systems approach there that will produce food (pigs, fish, mushrooms) for 10,000 residents (and export) and where the waste from one process is the food for the next.

We were accompanied by extraordinary people of great intellect, true passion, precious talents, who were also tender and thoughtful and warm. For me, it was truly experiencing what “God’s Kingdom on earth” and the “Garden of Eden” are all about.

While my way is not yet clear in terms of how to integrate this experience into the rest of my life and work, we are already working on one concrete step: importing the water (by ship) to the US and selling via grass roots organizations, without middlemen. All profits will go back to Gaviotas. I can’t wait to show you the water bottles – they are designed to lock together like Legos, and indeed, the empty bottles have already become the “Legos” of the poor.

Once we get the logistics worked out, we will be letting you know how you might become involved. And I will be working on further reports as time allows.

Love to you all, Hollister