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Property of Earthship Biotexture

by  Francisco G. Gómez

As I said in part 1 of this piece, when I arrived at Taínasoy Apiario, there was lots of land preparation going on and construction of several projects were to begin in February of 2018. Noemi told me that there was a crew of 29 volunteers led by Mike Reynolds, founder of Earthship Biotecture, coming from Taos, New Mexico to build the first Earthship on the island. Once again history in the making in Boriken. This crew was to be joined by another crew of local islanders to assist in the construction. You can read about Taínasoy and Earthship Biotecture’s island project here, see some cool schematics and see the ship’s progress on their website. For further study on Earthships, please see this in depth article by Environment & Ecology .

I asked Noemi what the inspiration for the earth ship was and she explained that the natural disasters that had devastated Haití in recent years and the trauma of hurricane María were the motivators to construct a dwelling that could withstand these natural phenomena – Of course global climate change has augmented and amplified the magnitude of these storms and quakes in recent years!

Mario Antones

On the day I visited Taínasoy I had the good fortune of meeting Mario Antones, one of the key people working on the earthship. He gave a short, but succinct, explanation of the project in Spanish. The interview with Mario will be part of a documentary Raíces is editing and will be out in the next couple of months. Stay tuned for the trailer!

All in all, Noemi and the crew at Taínasoy are to be commended on the exceptional work they are doing to rebuild a New Puerto Rico. Sustainable living, renewable tech, agro-ecology and a tremendous love for the bees are the ingredients in their Pachamama asopáo! These new jíbaros are well educated, knowledgeable and determined to make the Phoenix rise from the ashes, but in a new way. More on Taínasoy Apiario soon…

If you want to help in that process please visit Taínasoy’s Facebook page and Gofundme site.

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