On board Goa's floating island

Open Island in South Goa is a sustainable floating island made from recycled materials

What
Open Island in South Goa is a sustainable floating island made from recycled materials. Launched on February 14 this year, the island was constructed during a five-week workshop held this year, as part of the third edition of the ASAP Island project (which aims to build artificial islands with an inter-disciplinary team). The floating island can house two people and includes a shelter, a garden, compost toilet and a solar cooker. Construction materials included wooden grids, bottles, nets and ropes. Social sculptor Joy Lohmann (Germany), Vinesh Iyer, Deepak Pathania and Darryl Norohna (all from Goa) comprise the team behind this effort.

A placard explaining the various materials used to make Open Island 

How
Speaking about the island, Iyer shares, “Architects, designers and scientists worked on it. It can be implemented in flood-affected areas. It is an open source concept and the structure can evolve over time.” He adds that considering sea-levels may rise due to extreme climate changes, there may be hundreds of floating settlements within this century. “Most concepts are top-down approaches for wealthy clients. ASAP Island includes the poorest who are most affected by changing eco-systems. It can also act as a floating classroom and a social sculpture project,” he adds.

Iyer explains further that the model can be replicated, as it only requires volunteers, open knowledge and crowdfunding.

The Open Island moored on River Sal; it can shelter two people 

Where
Open Island is part of a collaborative project between German social sculptor Joy Lohmann (who started the project at the World Fair, in 2000), Art Escape (Goa) and Design Intervention (Goa).

At River Sal, before Talauilim Bridge, next to Checkers, Varca, South Goa.
Call 07350053582 / 093235900516

log on to www.asap-island.org for more details;
watch the making of the island on www.facebook.com/groups/asapisland/

Eight kids from Asro (means shelter in Konkani) were part of the workshop for a day

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