Topia’s name comes from a book called “Gaviotas” written by Alan Weisman. The book tells the true story of a group of Colombians who learned to value a particular place – both as a natural habitat and as a 20th century community. The book is impossible to put down.
As the story goes, despite long and persistent political and environmental problems in Colombia, in 1971 a group of visionaries led by Paolo Lugari, a scholar and former professor, decided to create a new community using simply what was on hand in a barren savanna in the eastern part of the country. Instead of importing costly technological solutions from the “First World” they developed their own sustainable technologies as well as an evolving environmental ethic.
Now almost three decades later, the village called Gaviotas has survived numerous challenges by changing with the times.
Lugari, the founder of Gaviotas, grew up in Popayan, a colonial city just south of Cali in southwestern Columbia. After finishing his studies, he spent time in the more rustic provinces of eastern Colombia. In this rural setting, he began to theorize about developing settlements in the fairly empty, well-drained savannas.
Weisman writes of Lugari: “Later he would tell everyone: ‘They always put social experiments in the easiest, most firtile places. We wanted the hardest place. We figured if we could do it here, we could do it anywhere.’”
When Lugari would describe Gaviotas to people they would speak out in disbelief, often calling Gaviotas a “utopia.” Lugari took great offence to this comment and would explain that ”utopia” is latin literally translating to “not of this earth,” he insisted instead that Gaviotas was a “topia” it was real, it was of this earth.
There is no doubt that Lugari is inspired, perhaps a genius, and he has inspired us.
The question then became: are Canadians building their own Topias? And if not, “why?”
Then we went to work.
Gaviotas
