if we're interested in learning how to build for the future, this proven system is as basic as we could hope to find. Even on a smaller scale the tenacity of well rooted woody plant species that spread as colonies is amazing.
I did, and it was remarkable. It makes me wonder how such a tradition began, working with living natural materials, not just the materials humans rendered from nature, and then carrying on such a project for generations. Something similar is the tradition of building hedges, but the bridges are a leap beyond that.
Yes, it was a real genius move to start guiding the fig roots across rivers by directing them to grow through hollow sections of bamboo. It is mind-blowing that someone had that idea as well as the insight that it would take years to complete a bridge that way.
if we're interested in learning how to build for the future, this proven system is as basic as we could hope to find. Even on a smaller scale the tenacity of well rooted woody plant species that spread as colonies is amazing.
Did you see my recent story about the living fig-tree bridges in India. It is another example of people using fig trees in ways that increase resilience to extreme weather: https://planetficus.substack.com/p/how-living-fig-tree-bridges-provide
I did, and it was remarkable. It makes me wonder how such a tradition began, working with living natural materials, not just the materials humans rendered from nature, and then carrying on such a project for generations. Something similar is the tradition of building hedges, but the bridges are a leap beyond that.
Yes, it was a real genius move to start guiding the fig roots across rivers by directing them to grow through hollow sections of bamboo. It is mind-blowing that someone had that idea as well as the insight that it would take years to complete a bridge that way.