Pop Bottle Island, recycled island built from scratch.

[strange magic]

It's not the same as starting your own country, but this guy decided he was 'tired of living on earth' and built his own island. Supposedly, it got destroyed in a hurricane in 2005, but you gotta admire his idea. I do. Send me your pop bottles pleese.

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2005/11/tired_of_living.php#comments

Tired of Living on Earth? Build Your Own Island!

We couldn't make this stuff up: this man, Reishee Sowa of Puerto Aventuras, Mexico, apparently grew tired of trying to live self-sufficiently on dry land, and did what any of us would have done. He built his own island out of used pop bottles. 250,000 of them, plus some construction leftovers and bags of leaves, make up "his island," though he's quick to point out that it's technically not an island by traditional standards. "You see not even the president is allowed his own island in Mexico," he says, "but technically I don’t have an island, I have an eco space-creating ship."

Granted, the idea may seem a bit wacky to some of you dear readers, and though it's not entirely practical on a global scale for each person to have their own island, we do admire his ingenuity and innovative spirit. Our earth is two-thirds water, after all.

But seriously, Reishee Sowa has done something pretty incredible, and he really has a passion for a better world. "We are being faced with a population explosion and maybe building islands is the answer. This island is an example of something that could be built worldwide. You could be totally self sufficient with it. All is as natural as possible. I catch rain water for showers, the toilet naturally composts, and you can grow your own produce," he says. While we aren't sure we'll be able to solve the world's problems by building floating islands from recycled pop bottles, it's the spirit of his work that we like best. He's able to live self-sufficiently in his own version of paradise, and that sounds pretty good to us. Thanks to Geoff for the tip! ::Playa Maya News

[islandboy]

I wonder if the whole Dubai World will be a success, and if more developers will consider such projects in US locations like Florida.

[strange magic]

With all the crazy money being spent in that part of the world, I think they're calling it Dubai Inc. now. With Florida's weather, I can't see it being as suitable for building man made islands. They also don't seem to have as much cash as the middle east.

[MarcusAntonius]

What the Heck? Thats totally fubar.

[Guest]

[Guest]

"Fantasy: Who Says No Man is an Island?"
By Margot Dougherty, People Magazine, 8/31/87

Want an island? can't find one you like?

Well that problem has been solved by Forbes Thor Kiddoo, a San Fransisco houseboat builder. He built his own South Seas, Gilliganesque island, made of 1,600 square feet of pure white sand surrounded by a rim of 120 tons of granite boulders. The island is topped with a glass gazebo sitting amidst 40 foot palms, date trees, a beach and a waterfall.

It has an undersea 15 room mansion, reached by descending two flights of hand-cut stone steps. This James Bond-style undersea getaway features three opulent staterooms, four baths, sunken dining room, a 19 foot Honduran mahogany bar and wine cellar. The baroque decor of rich red velvet, italian tiles, teak parquetry, persian rugs, antique furniture and walls covered with mirrors and crystal give the sense of a seraglio designed by an Cocaine crazed Arab prince. The San Fransisco Examiner described it as "A pad of such reputed sybaritic splendor that the visitors gasp with astonishment."

Forbes used painstaking attention to detail and the highest levels of hand-made craftsmanship to construct his dream-home. A mile and a half of timber panelling and 21 doors, were cut by Forbes with such precision that no nails were used to hold them together. Lighting underwater is achieved by the use of 55 antique brass portholes salvaged from WWI troop and supply ships. It has its own sewerage treatment plant, a 60,000 gallon water tank, and for the Bond afficionados, an air-locked escape hatch.

In 1975 Forbes was a 42 year old master carpenter with his own shipyard specialising in the construction of houseboats from old barges and WWII landing craft. After 12 years of building fantastic houseboats for others such as a floating Taj Mahal, he was inspired by Jules Verne's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea to build his own island. "Why did I build an island? Because it hadn't been done before. I wanted to copy a great architect. So I copied God."

He poured the 288 tons of concrete that forms the bouyant hull of the man-made island himself, and spent all his spare time for the next five years fitting out the huge raft that he planned to turn into an island. By 22 December 1980 it was ready for launch, but the launch took three days, during which cables broke and the cranes were mired in mud, and ended up costing $10,000. However, despite the cost, hard work and expenses his dream was afloat and sea-worthy by Christmas Day. He lived there till 1986, when he put in on the market for $1.5 Million dollars.

[Guest]

Richie Sowa’s Plastic Bottle Island

http://stavos.homeip.net/condemned/bottleIsland.htm
www.sambarcroft.com/pages/Spiral/spiral.htm
www.geocities.com/spiral_island/pics.html

SCREW YOUR RRSP AND START SAVING EMPTIES: A British carpenter has finished building his own tropical island out of 250,000 plastic bottles. 49-year-old Richie Sowa started designing his dream island in the '80s, and made two failed attempts before finishing his new home last Janaury. The island measures 66 feet by 54 feet, weighs 60 tons, and is anchored to rocks in a lagoon near Cancun. He has also built a two-bedroom house on the island, powered by solar panels, and he is planning full self-sustainability by beginning to plant a garden. For now, he makes his living selling tickets to about 100 tourist a day who want to see his tropical utopia. (The U.K. Sun)

A Middlesbrough man living in Mexico has built an island out of 300,000 plastic bottles.

Richie Sowa's creation is held together with fishing nets, bamboo and plywood and is topped with soil and sand. The 20m by 16m floating island, which has its own beaches, has become a tourist attraction off the coast of Mexico. He is said to have come up with the idea after years of travelling and designed the island after settling down near Puerto Aventuras on the Yucatan Peninsula, says The Mirror. He has described his four years of work as a "modern Noah's Ark". He has cultivated plants, has a "self-composting" toilet, solar-powered oven, and wave-powered washing machine.

More impressive than Robinson Crusoe's abode, Spiral Island boasts three beaches, a garden and a two-bedroom house with a toilet and shower. Many people who dream of escaping to a desert island will never get further than the travel agent's, but Richie Sowa has proved that he's got more bottle than most. In fact, he's got 250,000 of them -- and they've been used to create his very own paradise, just south of Cancun in Mexico.

Measuring 22 metres by 18 metres, it took Mr. Sowa, 49, a former carpenter from Middlesbrough, England, four years to build what he now calls Spiral Island Mr. Sowa first thought about building his own island when he was working in Germany in the 1980s, finally deciding to take the plunge after the breakup of his second marriage. He started with a basic raft made from thick bamboo poles, stuffing the plastic drink bottles -- which he got from passersby on the island by setting up a stall -- into nets, which he tied to the bottom of the poles.

The island is basically a huge floating raft supported by the air in the bottles and floats in a lagoon off the exclusive resort Puerto Aventuras. Mr. Sowa nailed layers of plywood onto the poles to create a secure base on which to build a home and garden. His home, which is rather more impressive than that inhabited by Robinson Crusoe, now consists of a large living area, two bedrooms and a kitchen and has walls of plaited palm tree. The roof of the house is a layer of plastic sheeting which doubles as a gutter and collects fresh water for drinking.

However, Spiral Island is in a tropical climate, which brings the problem of extreme weather conditions into play. Mr. Sowa has managed to combat the searing heat by planting mangroves, some of which are now more than five metres high and keep the island cool. The lush vegetation has the added advantage of securing the island, preventing it from drifting, as the roots grow around the island. This also ensures it's robust enough to withstand the high winds that often whip around the island

Mr. Sowa now wants to become self-sufficient, although he currently relies on supplies of bread from a nearby shop. He's well on his way, though, having already planted grapes, beans, eggplant, tomatoes, bananas and coconuts in his garden. As if that doesn't sound idyllic enough, he cooks his food on an open fire on one of the island's three beaches, which were created using sand from nearby construction sites. Meals can also be cooked using a specially created solar cooker -- a huge spiral-shaped mirror that uses the sun's rays to bake food hanging above it. There's enough energy from the sun to power lights in the evening and a CD player, on which Mr. Sowa listens to his favourite Beatles and Pink Floyd tunes. And to complete his host of creature comforts, he also has a fully operational toilet and a warm-water shower, using water heated by the rays of the Caribbean sun.

Financially, Mr. Sowa's life on Spiral Island is kept afloat due to the fact he's become an enormous tourist attraction. Along with his dog Bonga, two ducks and four cats, he now attracts around 100 visitors a day, most of whom give him generous donations before they leave.

[Guest]

The Republic of New Atlantis
"A bamboo platform anchored by a railroad axle and an old Ford engine block"

In 1964 the writer Ernest Hemingway’s brother Leicester announced the formation of “a new territory” and wanted six active young British to become it’s citizens. He was forced to bar Americans because of and American ban on dual nationality. Called “The Republic of New Atlantis” the island chosen by Hemingway for his experiment was only 6 feet by 12 feet and lay 7 miles off the Jamaican coast, 30 miles south-east of Montego Bay.

“It didn’t exist until we made it,” said Hemingway. “Every island in the world belongs to somebody today, so I picked a submerged sandbank fifty feet down and beyond the three-mile limit and I built it up with iron piping, stones, bamboo and steel cables”.

By towing out disused concrete-hulled navy ships and filling them with rubble Hemingway planned to create and island ½ mile long and ¼ mile wide. The serious purpose behind his caper was to establish a marine aquarium and protect Jamaican fishing rights.

Little has been written about this statelet, but George Demko, director of the U.S. Office of the Geographer considered it "the closest a dreamer has come to official recognition." In 1964, Ernest Hemingway's younger brother, Leicester, received a note from Lyndon Johnson thanking him for issuing a stamp in his honor from his newfound nation. Shortly thereafter, however, the young nation of New Atlantis, which consisted of "a bamboo platform anchored by a railroad axle and an old Ford engine block" six miles off the coast of Jamaica, was destroyed by a storm.

Ron Arias, with Michael Weiss, On the Job: George Demko, U.S. Geographer, Keeps a Watchful Eye on States That Border on the Absurd, People Weekly, May 30, 1988, at 101, 103.

[Guest]

[islandmiss]

I had no idea that building an island was such a popular alternative to buying an island. It gives us all hope, but I wonder how it goes with the local authorities when you start hauling stuff out onto the reef and delcare that you're building your own island!

I really like that Rasta bar on Happy Island. I could throw back a few rums there one day. Maybe he needs a bartender!

[Zebediah]

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