Landscape

An expanse of earth, adorned, improved, contoured, designed, and experienced. Architecture, travel, design, culture.

Der Papalagi, Erich Scheurmann
Eco-Cultural-Travel

Samoan “Chief Tuiavii” on European Decadence in ‘The Papalagi’

In 1920, Erich Scheurmann translated into German the speeches of Samoan Chief’ Tuiavii from the village of Tiavea, a work called The Papalagi (The White People) that describes his impressions of European culture formed during a tour as part of a traveling show. Tuiavii’s depictions of the greed and hypocrisy of the civilized Europeans has become a post-hippie inspiration for a counterculture movement to break out of the rigid confines of corporate capitalism.

Junipero Serra, toppling California missions
Culture, EcoJustice Radio

Missions of Culture: Reclaiming Indigenous Wisdom with Caroline Ward Holland

Tune in as EcoJustice Radio welcomes Caroline Ward Holland, a Tribal citizen of the Fernandeño Band of Mission Indians or Tataviam Nation, as she speaks on the ongoing movement to topple controversial Mission monuments and mythologies. She recounts with host Carry Kim her Walk for the Ancestors in 2015, a pilgrimage she embarked upon with her son, Kagen Holland, to honor the Ancestors at all 21 missions in California.

greenhouse home in Sweden
Design, Sustainability

Passive-Solar Greenhouse-Wrapped Nature House in Sweden

In 1974, architect Bengt Warne designed the prototype for a greenhouse home to deal with the cold winters in Sweden. Rather than converting an existing structure and moving inside it, he built a normal house — and then encasing it in glass — a Nature House (or “Naturhus” ). Inspired by these designs, a family has created a home near Stockholm integrated with the elements of earth, water, air, and fire. The electricity bills have been cut in half, heated by an eco-friendly wood-burning oven and a hot water masonry heater. The greenhouse also shelters Mediterranean-style gardens that couldn’t survive the Swedish seasons — figs, kiwi, peaches, wine grapes, etc.