History of the Institute of Ecotechnics
The Institute of Ecotechnics started its work at the beginning of the 1970s after a group of individuals in New Mexico came together to explore new ways of living together and to develop ecologically sustainable approaches. In 1972, the Institute of Ecotechnics held its first conference at Synergia Ranch on the Ecology and Cultures of the Northern Rio Grande Basin.
Among the early inspirations was Buckminster’s Operating Manual for Spaceship Earth which emphasized the importance of a holistic, comprehensive approach to improve how people live on and with our planetary biosphere. Since the Earth is 70% water, it was clear the Institute would need a research ship to sail the world’s oceans to gain a planetary perspective.
The ship was designed in Santa Fe and built from scratch by the members of the institute themselves at the 5th Avenue Marina in Oakland, California, where, after 9 months of construction, the 82-foot ferro-cement Chinese junk sailing vessel sailed out of San Francisco Bay. Since then, the Research Vessel (R.V.) Heraclitus, named for the Greek philosopher who emphasized all is flux, change and that we never step in the same river as it is always changing, has sailed over 270,000 nautical miles. Currently completing a rebuild in northern Spain, the ship will continue with educational and citizen science goals once back at sea. The Institute owns the Heraclitus and charters it to educational and research-oriented organizations.
The Institute was registered as a UK research institute in 1982 and in 2006 as a 501(3)C U.S. non-profit organization. The directors are all unsalaried volunteers and donate their time.
Between 1972 and 1983, members of the Institute helped to establish a network of ecological demonstration projects across the globe, not only in challenging natural ecosystems but also in anthropogenic biomes (which include cities, industry, ranches, farms). These human-created environments and natural biomes can be seen as building blocks of the biosphere. The overarching goal for these projects has been to design systems that harmonize the technosphere with local ecologies and the biosphere, the new discipline we named “ecotechnics.”
Starting in 1976, the Institute convened annual conferences which continued for over three decades on interdisciplinary themes that impact our biosphere. The first series included Oceans (1976), Deserts (1977), Mountains (1978),Tropical Rainforests (Jungles) (1979), Planet Earth (1980), then a Solar System conference (1981), Galactic conference (1982) culminating in 1983’s Cosmos Conference.
Synergia Ranch, in Santa Fe County, New Mexico, was the earliest biome project consulted to by the Institute of Ecotechnics. Established in 1969, the goal was to turn a desert into an ecological and cultural oasis, restoring land that had been severely overgrazed and even ploughed up for short-lived farming. A thousand trees were planted, including a 400 fruit tree orchard; hundreds of tons of compost were made, organic gardens were initiated and erosion control of the property was started. As well, the “synergists” made tens of thousands of adobe bricks and built workshops, residences, and performing spaces, including a 50-foot-diameter geodesic dome.
An Institute of Ecotechnics branch was formed in Mumbai, India, in 1981, which operated for ten years, working on pollution remediation and assisting Dr. Thor Heyerdahl’s research on traditional sailing ships.
In 1979 the October Gallery in London was founded to showcase the Transvangarde, cutting-edge contemporary artists from around the world. Run by a charity, the October Gallery Trust manages the project where our UK-registered Institute of Ecotechnics is based.
In 1983, a sustainable forestry project was initiated in Puerto Rico with the Institute of Ecotechnics as consultant. From 1985-1990, 40,000 trees were line-planted to minimize disturbance to the secondary rainforest instead of clear cutting. The project is now an award-winning sustainable forestry project demonstrating new approaches to managing secondary forests through forest enrichment. Its spin-off enterprise, Puerto Rico Hardwoods is a leader restoring a local wood industry and demonstrating the value of hurricane-felled trees which previously were treated as waste and sent to landfills.
Starting in the late 70s and continuing for over 40 years, the Institute worked on pastoral regeneration in overgrazed tropical savannahs with two projects in the Kimberley region of northwest West Australia, a 5000 acre freehold seed farm and a 300,000 acre cattle station (ranch). The Institute held a conference on Eco-Transition Zones near Perth in 1979 and its projects became well-known as pioneers in sustainable land use.
In 1984, the Institute brought its decades of intellectual capital and networks to Spaces Biospheres Ventures in Oracle, Arizona to participate in the design, construction, operation and scientific research of the world largest laboratory for global ecology ever built – Biosphere 2.
Following the completion of Biosphere 2 and its first two human enclosure experiments in the early 1990s, the Institute hosted conferences from 1996-2007 at its conference center facility at Les Marronniers, Aix-en-Provence, France and at Synergia Ranch, NM including the Mediterranean Ecology & Cultures conference in 2011.
In 2006, the Institute of Ecotechnics became the fiscal sponsor for ecological wastewater treatment and water-recycling systems through its Wastewater Gardens division, tropical botany and conservation programs, and collaborations with universities, research institutions, and cultural organizations around the world.
Today, conferences, exhibitions, publications, expeditions, and educational programs continue to weave together diverse perspectives and disciplines in pursuit of practical solutions to contemporary challenges. The Institute of Ecotechnics continues to help connect science, ecology, technology, and culture. It remains dedicated to support the ongoing missions of the various projects it helped start, finish rebuilding its ocean-going research vessel, and holds workshops and symposiums to further the conversation on how to design and build a technosphere that can exist in harmony with the biosphere.