It amazes me how people like Musk are seriously pushing the idea of colonizing Mars, and also that this idea has gained traction among many people.
It makes a lot more sense both practically and economically to just pick a remote location on this planet and colonize there.
I propose the Chaco Boreal region of northern Paraguay, as a suitable location.
Why? Paraguay has the most accessible Permanent Residency program in the world for the vast majority of people. In most cases (depending on your country of origin) Permanent Residency can be obtained with a refundable $5000 USD deposit in a Paraguayan bank account. You can withdraw this money as soon as your residency is approved. Plus, one is eligible for naturalization after three years of substantial physical presence.
Land is cheap and there are large tracts of land available. Most "development" has been exploitative, so it would be a great place to showcase permaculture-style reforestation. The climate is largely equivalent to semi-arid parts of northern Africa and southern Africa, south-central Mexico, and semi-arid India, so I know there would be a great diversity of edible tree species to draw from for the agroforestry systems.
I was thinking a bunch of people could get together and pool their resources to buy a huge tract of land. Urban developers, architects, agronomists, engineers, mechanics, doctors, permaculturists, etc.
I kind of envision the new society as something along the lines of the Mennonites, but without the dogma, and with access to all the technology of modern civilization. Basically, anything goes (as long as it's legal according to Paraguay's laws).
I don't really know how the sorts of "invisible structures" would work for something like this. E.g. A larger share invested logically seems like it would entitle one to a larger tract of land. However, I think some resources like
water would have to be carefully and collectively managed. Some sort of agreed upon framework would likely be necessary to prevent monopolization of important resources.
I could be helpful for the food forestry/ agroforestry systems.
I got to thinking about this idea a long time ago, but it popped back into my head recently when I was reading a
thread on permies about millenials who feel that they've missed the opportunities to obtain land for their
permaculture dreams in developed countries. Depending on one's motivation, this could be the most practical way for someone to get ahold of some land, as the per hectare price could be very low depending on the total size of the tract purchased.
Am I nuts? Why does Mars make more sense?
2
