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 - I love this bookThis is one of my favorite books. I recommend it to anyone who will listen. I just love it. I've read it twice and I'll probably read it again sometime. I want to live in Gaviotas! Rating: - Gaviotas - inspiringWonderful book, highly recommended, inspiring. A real look at sustainable development in a highly unlikely place in the world. MUST READ!! Rating: - Must ReadThis is an amazing story about an amazing REAL place... It is an obligated reading for all of those who care about sustainability and renewable energy and wonder whether there is an alternative for our society. Read this and you will be full of hope and energy for action. Rating: - Engaging StyleThis book shows people solving ecological problems as a community. Weisman engages the reader by showing the people involved, not only the ones with training in certain disciplines, but also natives with practical solutions for living in a Columbian village. Even the children got involved in problem solving in Gaviotos. They have learned to live in a place where there are many dangers due to drug wars, yet their survival skills are exceptional. I highly recommend this eye-opening book Barbara Spring Rating:  - Not DIYThe vision described in the book is inspiring and very hopeful. The idea is to use our ingenuity in ways directly adapted to our environment so that small towns can be self-sufficient. Along the way, very clever uses of wind and water are discovered and described. If the reader is looking for great general ideas or approaches, this book would be hard to beat. On the other hand, if you are a garage-tinkerer and would delight in building the clever devices described, this book is close but no cigar. The drawings offered in the book purposely omit the most important details required to fabricate the devices in a proper working form. If you are a tinkerer and want to build these "goodies," you have three options. In the U.S., you can e-mail with the "Sustainable Village" web site and get the plans (eventually---they are not quick in responding). You can contact the Gaviotas offices in Bogota, Colombia. You can, of course, also take the basic idea and think through the details for yourself. That could take longer and be a little more expensive---perhaps. If you primarily want the ideas and the inspiration, then buy the book, by all means. If you primarily want to tinker and build, go straight for the plans.
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