NPR's Weisman to discuss Colombian community as model for development

National Public Radio journalist Alan Weisman will visit campus Thursday, Feb. 22, to share his insights into Gaviotas, the community built on the once-barren savannas of Colombia and now recognized as a model for the developing world.

The address, which will include a slide presentation, is scheduled for 7 p.m. in Room 103 Wilson Hall. It is free and open to the public.

Author of Gaviotas: A Village to Reinvent the World, Weisman will chronicle the story of Gaviotas within the social and political context of Colombia and recount its technical and social success. He will also explain the community's past and present struggles.

Weisman was part of a team assigned by NPR to document possible solutions to the world's greatest environmental crises. His search led to Gaviotas, 16 hours from the nearest city in war-torn, drug-ravaged Colombia.

The community was established in the early 1970s by a group of Colombians who decided to prove that they could thrive in one of the most brutal environments on earth. For nearly three decades, the scientists, artisans, rural peasants, ex-urban street kids and Guahibo Indians living in the village have developed such technology as lightweight windmills that can convert breezes into energy, solar collectors that work in rain, soil-free systems for raising edible and medicinal crops and ultra-efficient pumps hooked up to children's seesaws. Their resourcefulness has enabled them to prosper and live comfortably without damage to their environment. The United Nations has recognized Gaviotas as a sustainable environmental model for the world.

Weisman has chronicled Gaviotas' success in his book, in NPR news reports and in numerous articles for the New York Times Magazine, Harper's and others. He is also the author of La Frontera: The United States Border with Mexico.

Weisman's visit is sponsored by the departments of Anthropology, Biological Sciences, Civil and Environmental Engineering, English, Geology, History, Physics and Astronomy; programs in Latin American Studies and Communication of Science, Engineering and Technology; and the University Lecture Series.