Easter Island has a story unlike any other. For years the Rapa Nui people flourished thanks to their thriving industrious culture. Much about this culture remains a m’Easter’y, but one thing that is clear is that the Rapa people were able to build enormous stone “moai” statues. This was an engineering marvel, demonstrating the island’s wealth and success and honoring their ancestors. But with more wealth and success, more jungle was cleared to make room for more statues and soon these structures lined the island.
Eventually this m’Easter’ious island reached a tipping point…
Some say the focus on building these impressive statues is exactly what led to Easter Island’s demise. Destruction of the island’s natural resources to build these statues eventually left the island completely barren and uninhabitable, with nothing left but massive stone statues.
Societies in all corners of the globe continue to learn from Easter Island’s past…a story of wealth and success coming at the expense of the environment. Lasting success comes when a society’s culture and environment go hand in hand.
When cultural practices respect and celebrate the environment.
When culture thrives alongside a thriving environment. Because THAT makes h’Easter’y!
Thanks to these travelers sharing lessons from the past…
We can celebrate these cultures and think towards the future.
Here’s to making h’Easter’y and to feeling good—because after all, it’s Friday!
-Jack & Alley, Co-Founders
(Photos: Easter Island by Lesley M., Nepal by @cleancitycooperative)