Hey, this is pretty cool: Two Brits are trying to put together a "tribe" of 5,000 people to build a sustainable eco-community on a small island in Fiji. The idea is to create something that the islanders can eventually adopt and steward, all the while keeping big developers at bay.
Through their site, tribewanted.com, they're allowing people to buy shifts on the island. From an L.A. Times story:
Memberships -- Nomad ($220), Hunter ($440) and Warrior ($660) -- entitle members to seven, 14 or 21 days on the palm-fringed 200-acre oasis, 100 at a time. Fees cover food, lodging and local airport transfer.
This is not for the five-star hotel crowd. The tribe will be roughing it, especially the early arrivals, who will have only tents and basic shower and toilet facilities.
"The first job for the tribe," [Ben] Keene said, "is to build for those who come later," working alongside paid Fijian laborers to build beach huts. There's no electricity, but solar energy will provide Internet access.
The Fijan chief whose family populates the island leased it to the Brits for three years.
The objective, Keene said, is threefold: to provide a unique adventure for tribe members, to pioneer a "social experiment" of 5,000 people working together to create something and "to raise awareness about living sustainably and traveling responsibly." All while providing local jobs and invigorating the economy
Several people in the story joke about it being like a reality show -- an idea the Brits go to great lengths to shoot down -- but I happen to think that this would make a great TV show. It's nice for people to see that they don't have to wait on anyone to start making change.
(via BB)
Comments
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David Roberts Posted 12:40 pm
28 May 2006
www.grist.org
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caniscandida Posted 9:38 pm
28 May 2006
But I thought this was interesting:
<<Creating a Climate Neutral Island <br>
Being a responsible global citizen means reducing ones impact and offsetting the rest. Tribewanted is working in partnership with Climate Care to make Adventure Island climate neutral. The biggest impact by far, however, will come from the air travel of Tribe members, and we hope that through Tribewanted.com we will spread a key message - if you fly, offset. Tribe members will also see the exciting potential of living lightly on the earth, and understand some of the some of the sustainable technologies that Climate Care's projects promote.>>
[N.B. the generally poor editing. They obviously are too mindlessly ecstatic at the thought of how rich they are going to be.]
"Offset," i.e. pay for something restorative to offset one's CO2 emissions, is at present just enviro-jargon, but it deserves to enter the mainstream vocabulary. Meanwhile, though, I have no idea how it is calculated for the individual consumer. At Climatecare.org, a British site, they told me I should pay them 8.38 pounds sterling (around $12?; I may misremember the .38, but the point is it was something exact, and not all that costly) to "offset" a round-trip flight between NYC and SF. And then, aside from how they calculate, how do I know they will be using the money that I send them for something effective?
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jmcstras Posted 2:46 am
29 May 2006
Sustainablog: http://sustainablog.blogspot.com
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David Roberts Posted 3:44 am
29 May 2006
www.grist.org
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amazingdrx Posted 5:03 am
29 May 2006
Just don't imagine Woodstock and "Survivor".
Imagine the clean, orderly, friendly, solidaritous, migrant camp that the Jode family finnaly found in the movie. But more wilderness like, with simple tech, efficient tent platforms containing a bit of rewable powered radiant heat, low flow water, composting toilet, low power electric, internet. Bike and ski trails for arteries.
We netizens would never leave. Patriotically consuming way less precious resources and creating far less CO 2.
Could a tribe build this?
http://amazngdrx.blogharbor.com/blog
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