"I think having land and not to ruin it is the most beautiful art anyone can dream." -. Andy Warhol
Meet Gil Frei, also known as bamboo name Gil, a boat captain who jumped ship in Bali there 18 years and is now developing its own food and medical herbs on a small corner of paradise near the beach.
How many years have you spent at sea?
Most of my adult life. I ran out of the sea at nineteen. I lived with a wild friend who created a lot of drama. I will not go into details, but just at the perfect time, I received a phone call from a friend asking if I would like to navigate from New York, where I lived, in the Caribbean. We left NY harbor end on 1 December on a beautiful teak yacht of 100 feet. We hit a terrible storm and were blown north of Nova Scotia. It took us over a month to limp off half south. I worked long and the crew somehow finagled my way charter captain in the Caribbean, Europe, New England and finally Indonesia.
And here you are in Bali after years at sea! How did it happen?
I was captain of a vintage yawl 100 feet from 1920s The owner was the guy portrayed in the movie "Wall Street". One day, I just get bored with it all. I would never abandon my boss so I trained my companion to take my place and went on holiday to Bali and never went back.
What you bamboo
I remember as a child, I loved 'Mysterious Island' and especially bamboo home ?; how it was built from any handy. I do not deliberately look for books or magazines when I designed this house. This is cheating. I do not look cookbooks or -. Removes all the fun
Tell me the story of your bamboo house and how you created this sustainable lifestyle you generously share with your friends.
I lived in the center of Seminyak in a small house when I saw this small farm last remaining cheap near the beach. I rented immediately. The most important thing about the building is not so much the design as it is the location of the building on the ground. The house should enter the country. I wanted to get to know the feel of the land and because I had never built anything and did not have the slightest idea; I build on it for two years. Meanwhile, I put in the lotus pond and vegetable and herb garden. I had a cute pond at my house Seminyak, including water actually saved my house because no other water was available from a fire leaping from roof to roof. Later, I had a dream of a spirit living in the pond. I wanted to move this good spirit to its new home.
The lotus pond has a good spirit! When I pulled back my bike in mind, it kept me from falling. How did you start building your house?
I made a model of broomstraw I had in my kitchen for a year before building. The second stage is greater than the first. It really is a one-storey building with a large loft upstairs. Bamboo construction must have diagonal beams support. The largest top floor allows you to put in diagonal lots outside. The roof is a large cross cutting gear in a large pyramid. The alang alang roof-was the most expensive part of the house. It is difficult to obtain good quality grass these days, but Ubud boys did me good. I would busy myself thinking of new gadgets, as a kind of pleasure of living in a grass house with all the modern gadgets like remote control lighting, remote control music, and Wifi rest. The hot tub is heated by the office air conditioner and the movie screen pulls down from a hollow bamboo beam.
What you eat now is pie sawi. It is made from local feta cheese, dark green local, and all other ingredients from the garden. The arugula salad as well, and ginger vinegar is homemade. It is all grown and made here. I rarely need to go shopping. I want to know my food is organic. It just seems ridiculous to me to eat something that was stolen from Europe or the States with all the effort and energy and plastic that entails. I enjoy a good French or Italian cheese as a rare treat sometimes, but prefers to eat local.
This is the most delicious organic food that I ate in Bali. Did you raise ducks? Is this one of them?
Yes, this is one of my ducks. I tell the ducks, "No eggs - in the pot," but they did not listen. They had a good life, but we can not afford to keep feeding them if they do not produce. I just received some news and we have the same agreement. They have a serial connection to the place and are well maintained.
Much of what grows wild here is medicinal. We were taught to kill weeds like dandelion as if they were useless when in fact, most plants have useful properties. I now collects Meniran, dissolving kidney stones, liver cleanses, reduces tumors and stimulates the immune system. I study Sambiroto and other local wild plants that grow here and read about recent tests by major medical centers such as Sloan Kettering and the University Hospital in New York suggesting they may help fight cancer , hepatitis, influenza, and many of the most common ailments.
Do you think that if more people were living as you do, that would be a better world?
There is a bit of a problem. I will be too much and do not want to waste good food, so I have to sort of make and cook often invite friends for dinner. I read about the medicinal qualities of plants around me and it's nice to be able to help friends in need with these traditional ayurvedic plants. Of course, I advise them to see the local doctor.