Gaia Ecovilla and Argentina Permaculture Institute

Another overnight bus ride to Buenos Aires and a 110 km cab ride takes us past Navarro to the permaculture site of Gaia Ecovilla and the Argentina Permaculture Institute. If you go to their web site - you will find that this is a place that is truly walking the talk. Most of our short time there was spent with founder Gustavo Ramirez who lead a tour of over twenty architects and other design professionals around the site.

Totally off the grid thanks, primarily, to three wind generators with some help from a six panel array of solar cells. Their food forest is well designed and developing into a multi use ecology for the future. The most visually captivating elements in their community are the whimsical and beautiful cob structures that are built as residencies and community buildings. Thatched roofs are predominant though there are sheet metal, living roofs, and other configurations.

The whole community was very welcoming and I felt honored that I was treated as some legendary permaculture figure. It made me regret that I hadn’t worked harder to come to Gaia Ecovilla in 2000 when I had been invited for the Latin American convergence.

The community supports itself primarily through course offerings of all kinds. Right now there are around ten adults and three very young children. I encourage anyone who is traveling in South America to include this wonderful demonstration site on your itinerary.