The Living Roots Bridge of Meghalaya are spectacular monuments of community collaboration and trans-generational design — certainly no art form for the instant gratification pros of our 21st century!
A mere 7000 steps from the edge of modern living, the root bridges certainly beg the question of just why exactly the drilling deep into the earth to pull out ore, smelt it into steel then create a bridge, so people may cross a small gorge, became the only default option. As evinced, one can gently— over generations of course— weave the tree roots slowly into mud and earth and let the tree do the bridging— just like the two magical Ficus Elastica trees on both sides of the gorge have in this tucked away corner in Meghalaya.Defying gravity and modern engineering, the Living Roots Bridge are more than a selfie-worthy hotspot—although you wouldn’t think so watching the social media hordes infinitely clicking until THE perfect picture !
The bridges silently scream—just connect with community, with your earth systems, with trees and elements around you and the clues are all around!
True, one can’t cross the pacific on a living roots bridge and the Golden Gate becomes quite necessary. But the living roots bridges don’t ask to be copied or replicated… They merely signaled us to read deep into the wisdom hidden in their roots, in the communities that made them and in the traditional knowledge that we’re losing by the second.
On this Earth Day (although every day is Earth Day at Vertiver) we pay homage to the great architects of the Living Root Bridges in Meghalaya (and wherever else they may exist) for showing us the way!
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