If you are looking for an interesting holiday or breakaway and want to keep your carbon footprint to a minimum then why not join and learn from eco-pioneer and environmentalist Richart “Rishi” Sowa.
Rishi Sowa’s life epitomizes self sustainability and incorporates the three R’s; reduce, reuse and recycle; in everything he does. He has designed and built two artificial floating islands in the waters off the caribbean coast of Mexico.
As an environmentalist, Rishi believes in recycling and low impact living, he is a musician, an artist and carpenter who built his first floating island beginning in 1998. His famous spiral island was featured in a number of newspapers and TV documentaries around the world. It was also featured in an episode of Ripley’s Believe It or Not TV show. This creative man has built an entire island which he floated from common household trash. He used more than 250,000 plastic bottles to float an island complete with a two-story house, 3 beaches, trees, gardens, and solar panels.
Spiral Island I
The first floating island that Rishi built was 66 ft (20m) by 54 ft (16m) and was located near Puerto Aventuras, south of Cancun on the Caribbean coast. Rishi helped clean up the environment in two ways. First he filled nets with empty discarded plastic bottles to support his structure. 250,000 plastic bottles were used and supported a structure of bamboo and plywood, thereby recycling waste that polluted the Caribbean waters.
Secondly sand was poured on the structure of bottles, plywood and bamboo. The sand Sowa used was primarily taken from the end of the beach where it came up against the man made rock pier. The winds there caused beach sand to constantly pile up. The wind combined with the constant motion of waves created sand pile ups that blocked boats from getting through the canal at Puerto Aventuras. When Rishi built his island, he took over the dredging process by gathering 8 to 10 large buckets of sand per week making it unnecessary for the builders of Puerto Aventurals to clear the canal for the boats by dredging using large machinery as had been their practice.
In 2005, Hurricane Emily destroyed the original spiral island. The island was washed up on the beach completely in one piece while a small proportion of the bags of plastic bottles washed up on the beach away from where the island landed.
Due to the total devastation to his original island, Rishi conducted a reconstruction campaign of the island in late 2007 and 2008. The new island was built in the waters of Isla Mujeres, the “Island of Women” which is close to Cancun. Spiral Island II opened for tours in August 2008 and has been the feature for documentaries produced by Japanese and Korean TV.
New Spiral Island II
About 100,000 bottles were used in the construction of Spiral Island II which was built with the help of volunteers. The new island has beaches, a house, 2 ponds, a solar powered waterfall/river and solar panels. Slightly smaller than its predecessor it is about 20 meters (60 feet) in diameter. Rishi ,who is in his fifties, has created an island work in progress and continues to make improvements to the Island.
Spiral Island II has attracted visitors from around the world in all walks of life, donations and volunteers who are inspired by what is arguably one of the most impressive do it yourself ventures of modern times.
Rishi Sowa welcomes organized groups and visitors to the island. You are able to enjoy time maintaining the island and learning from Rishi on how to live this carefree self sustainable life.
For more information and ideas on how to build your own island, visit Spiral Islanders.
Source: Spiral Islanders
Editorial Director
