Amoretti’s plans for a sustainable community. (Photo Courtesy of Luis Suarez Amoretti)
In my professional and my personal life, I think a lot about the urgent need to shift away from a predator development paradigm to a sustainable one in order to fight climate change.
Reading An Inconvenient Truth by Al Gore inspired me to develop “Villa Ecológica Ericka,” a pilot project to create ecological homes.
The goal is to create a community that can produce its own energy, manage its waste, and optimize the use of natural resources.
Some of the sustainable components in “Villa Ecológica Ericka” include reusable water and the collection of rainfall, solar-generating panels, a solar water-heating system, an urban orchard in common space growing fruits and vegetables, and a compost.
Luis Suarez Amoretti on a bridge in La Asunta, Bolivia in an area where he and his team are bringing electrification. (Photo Courtesy of Luis Suarez Amoretti)
The first home was built in the central Bolivian town of Tiquipaya, about 6 miles (10 kilometers) outside the city of Cochabamba.
Developing this project helped form my thinking about what is needed for sustainable development that both improves human life and preserves our planet.
About 29 percent of Bolivia’s population of 12.5 million lives in rural areas, and our policymakers need to focus on its rural populations with a national plan in the ways suggested below.
Six Areas for Sustainable Planning
- • An organic polyfarming revolution should be developed in rural areas to produce organic food in greenhouses using regenerative practices enhanced by technological advances to get the most yield from native plants in the smallest area. This involves combining technology with ancient knowledge.
- • A national plan for sustainable reforestation should be established using tree species suitable to different types of Bolivian climate and land.
- • Rural-based industries suitable to Bolivia should be developed, including textiles made from camelids, fish-breeding, beekeeping, and local organic food enterprises.
- • Ecotourism should be encouraged, in part by adding infrastructure to rural communities that encourage nature-friendly visitors.
- • A project should be launched to increase education around preparation of preventative medicine using herbs grown in South America.
- • Indigenous and local culture should be preserved and shared more widely, including in schools and in events for tourists.
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