A Well-Rounded Adventure

/ Milo Inman / 2 Comments

“Mists, ah, very problem!”

I glanced sideways at the boisterous Mallu man driving the jeep along the winding mountain road. Like his passengers, he was peering out of the vehicle at the steep slopes around us, scanning them for wildlife, abetted by the pre-dawn lighting and the heavy mists.

If any elephants or bison were grazing upon the high hills we drove through, they were impossible to see thanks to the cotton-thick mists blanketing the tall grass and trees that covered the terrain. As the vehicle banged and clunked over potholes at high speeds, I held determinedly onto the railing for dear life, occasionally risking freeing my hands for a photograph of the scenery speeding past.

Some ways down the road, once the sun had risen above the horizon, the jeep rolled to a stop under a densely canopied corridor. My eyes began to search the trees for the reason of our stop to no avail – the driver pointed to what I had previously taken for a pile of rocks, proclaiming it to be a tribal temple. Upon a second look, I realized that the blocks of granite were hewn into rough rectangles, and while in no particular order, they were indeed surrounding a small garlanded icon. Continue reading →

Bismar’s Birds

/ Amie Inman / 2 Comments

Our involvement with conservation tourism around the world has taught us the vital importance of guides, whether they be for cultural visits or treks in the forest.  Good interpretation is something that cannot be underestimated, in fact, it has been said to us before that “a visit to the rain forest without a guide is like a visit to the library without knowing how to read.”  In both cases there are opportunities to take in the atmosphere, but without the interpretive element that atmosphere is missing an infinite amount of context.

A good nature guide must have the obvious strengths of a “good eye”.  They must also be able to communicate well with their visitors, even if language barriers are present.  (Herein lies part of the beauty of the scientific names for flora and fauna!)  It’s an even greater boon if the guide’s “good eye” translates into being a good photographer.

Bismar López is an example of one of these talented guides, and we hope to highlight more from different parts of the world in the future.  He’s been guiding at Morgan’s Rock, a nature resort in southern Nicaragua (where Seth Inman spent the summer interning) since 2008. Growing up in a small community near the reserve has helped develop his love of Nature, especially birds. Continue reading →

Don’t Tread On Me

/ Seth Inman / 1 Comment

Humans’ ecological footprint has been increasing while the Earth has remained the same size. Especially in the last three centuries, the impact of human populations on surrounding landscapes and resources has grown enormously. In the United States, the footprint’s swelling can be explained in large part by the change from subsistence to profit-minded production. The colonists who brought European ideas and techniques to America instigated this shift, which began in the late seventeenth century and has arguably continued till the present. The abundance of resources in early America, and the fact that they could be so easily exploited, facilitated this change towards a profiteering mindset. It is with this observation in mind that I can suggest that the fertile nature of early America contained the seeds of our profit-oriented attitude of today, leading to an ever-growing ecological footprint.

Arthur Rothstein “Soil erosion, Alabama, 1937”

Men such as Gifford Pinchot and John Muir realized the dangers of the attitude towards excess and, in order to avoid exploitation of American forests and mountains, attempted to Continue reading →

What Wind Can Do

/ Amie Inman / 2 Comments

Milo has commented on the next generation of wind harvesting in an earlier post, but the use of technology is only bound by the limits of inventiveness and imagination.  Even in resource poor parts of the world opportunities are available to dreamers who see the possibilities in what has been discarded.

Continue reading →

Wordsmithing: Action

/ Organikos / Leave a comment

It seems funny that this word is a noun, since normally verbs are “action” words.  But as the OED makes clear in the first entry in the definition of this word, an action is an outcome:

…Something done or performed, a deed, an act; habitual or ordinary deeds, conduct….

More!

How the Wind Rose Turns

/ Amie Inman / 1 Comment

A recent trip to Thekkady showed me that the North East Monsoon will soon be upon us.  The state’s equatorial tropical climate is dictated by its privileged position between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghats, with the South West Monsoon providing respite from the summer heat and the North East Monsoon providing displays of lightning worthy of the Diwali season.

As the winds pick up it made me think about our time in Croatia, a country where the winds have mysterious names that don’t appear to coincide with points on the compass.  Like eddies, one of those inanimate natural phenomena that seem to take on animated characteristics, the named winds seem to possess characteristics far greater than the mere direction of their source. Continue reading →

Galapagos Crafts

/ Crist Inman / Leave a comment

Another change visible in the Galapagos Islands circa 2011, versus 2oo3, is the quality of the craft on display in at least one shop in Puerto Ayora.  I have always been interested in artisan craft, but especially so in the last 15 years.  My first exposure to the intersection between ancient traditions and modern methods was in Guatemala in the mid-1990s, where an Austrian artisan was working with Maya communities on the re-establishment of production of finely carved ceremonial masks.  Not long after that, I saw the same thing in Ecuador, where a Swiss artisan was working with the tagua nut (aka vegetable ivory) to create remarkable carved curiosities.

Now, in Galapagos, I see that an Ecuadoran artisan has documented his work in this book, showing a series of hand-made, all-wooden mechanical devices.  While he is not based in the islands, his work is on display and somehow resonates especially well there.  I took these short videos while visiting the gallery showing his work:

 

 

Such Stuff As Dreams Are Made On

/ Amie Inman / Leave a comment

Cloudscapes (2010), Transsolar and Tetsuo Konda Architects

The Venice Architectural Bienale has a long history of showcasing innovative, thought provoking design and the Arsenale is a ideal venue to experience it.  Once the largest industrial complex before the Industrial Revolution, in the 16th century the assembly line system was so efficient that it is said they could complete the manufacture of a ship in one day. (I won’t go into the number of trees required to feed this system throughout the centuries…)

The exhibition space of the Corderie, built in 1303 and then rebuilt between 1576 and 1585, covers a 6400 square meter surface that includes nearly 10 meter high ceilings, a magnitude that allows for a range of installations in the 2010 Bienale themed “People Meet in Architecture”.

Cloudscapes is an aerie (and slightly eerie) example of the possibilities.   Continue reading →

Galapagos Education #3/3

/ Crist Inman / 1 Comment

This blurry photo was taken in the town square the same evening as my visit to the school.  It was a musical and cultural show the school had orchestrated for the townspeople.  While school productions such as this may be universal, I was still struck by something: in none of my work visits from 1998-2003 had I seen such a display of community.  The men who play volleyball in the town square every evening respectfully halted their fiercely contested games, and many took a seat to watch and listen.

And while perhaps universal, this show in such a place had some magic beyond the music and dance steps: it was a sign of progress in the sustainable development of the islands.

Galapagos Education #2/3

/ Crist Inman / 2 Comments

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Reyna walked me through the school and explained the transformation it has undergone in the last few years.  The transformation began with the realization that children in these islands were in the midst of amazing nature, but that nature was not incorporated into the education they received.  Nor was sustainability.  Going from school room to school room I could see that this was corrected, and then some.  No unnecessary paving, nor walls where they were not needed.  Many classrooms are literally open air.  Kids do not have to lean out a window to see what is happening in the trees.  The science classroom looks familiar, yet better. Continue reading →

Galapagos Education #1/3

/ Crist Inman / 2 Comments

There were several reasons for the visit to the Galapagos Islands that I just completed.  I have known Reyna and Roberto for 15 years, since the time Reyna and I worked on a research project together.  One reason for the visit was to understand what has changed on the islands since my last visit, from the perspective of locals.  The biggest news, perhaps, was the radical improvement in the quality of education.  The photos below show the name of the school, and generous sponsors, from a sign at its entry; two children climbing over the wall from their home to the school grounds at the start of the day; a bit of sport; and the pathway from one classroom to the next.

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