Idea

Building a self-sufficient community on a remote island in the Adriatic Sea

Calling all adventurers!

Can big global social problems be solved from a remote island in the Adriatic Sea?

The Adriatic GreenLab thinks that the answer might be ‘Yes!’.

The initiative is bringing together small manufacturers and citizens to work on affordable and inclusive solutions to the problems of everyday living, including the responsible use of natural resources and landscapes.

Participants on the island are drawing on local natural resources, traditional skills and cultural knowledge, along with state-of-the-art technologies, such as digital fabrication, remote sensing and the latest methods for data collection and processing.

Starting with summer workshops and summer camps, the project is working to establish a functioning, self-sustaining, year-round community. Social cohesion, social innovation, social economy and solidarity, and of course environmental sustainability, form the core precepts. Equally crucial to the success of the venture is to build a sense of belonging, supporting emotional networking among participants and a genuine attachment to the island. The ultimate goal is to build an international center, open to anyone who has something to contribute.

As with dedicated manufacturer spaces, community ‘fab labs’ and other third spaces, at Adriatic GreenLab, inclusiveness is not an option but a requirement. Diversity stimulates new ideas, new solutions and new impacts. All ages, genders and backgrounds are needed to make a fulfilled and strong community.

In our modern world, bleak and desolate living environments seem on the rise; places where people feel little hope of improving their surroundings and their daily experiences. Adriatic GreenLab has an open mindset, affordable approach, and a notable dedication to the community. It is hoped that this model can be replicated in other areas, like underprivileged suburban and urban zones, where diversity among people, beliefs, methods and approaches can be a strength and not a weakness.