In northeast India, a giant cliff leads up into a hidden world: Lothlórien Meghalaya. Nearly two kilometers high and buffeted by monsoon storm clouds, this is possibly the wettest place on earth. Once, twenty-five meters of rain fell here in a year, the world record. Living here poses an unusual problem, and it's not just keeping dry. Nearly all the rain falls during the summer monsoon. Rivers switch from gentle streams to raging torrents. They become wild and unpredictable, and almost impossible to cross. Harley and his niece, Juliana, are busy cultivating a cunning solution.Transcript
Narrator: In Northeast India, a giant cliff leads up into a hidden world: Meghalaya. Nearly two Kilometers high and buffeted by monsoon storm clouds, this is possibly the wettest place on earth. Once, twenty-five meters of rain fell here in a year, the world record. Living here poses an unusual problem, and it's not just keeping dry. Nearly all the rain falls during the summer monsoon. Rivers switch from gentle streams to raging torrents. They become wild and unpredictable, and almost impossible to cross. Harley and his niece, Juliana, are busy cultivating a cunning solution.
Harley: "Look here, Look here. Let me teach you how to do it."
Narrator: Thirty years ago, Harley planted this strangler fig on the river's edge, and today, he's teaching Juliana how to care for it. The fig's tangled roots help to prevent the bank from being washed away.
Harley: "You have to be careful with these roots. Make sure no-one breaks them or cuts them."
Narrator: He teaches Juliana how to coax the roots across what is now just a stream. When they reach the other side, they'll take hold there. This is the basis of a structure that will survive any deluge; a living bridge. It's an epic project that no man can complete in one lifetime, so Harley is passing on his knowledge to Juliana.
Harley: "Watch this. I'll show you how to do it."
Juliana: "Is this the right way?"
Narrator: Each year Juliana will need to tend the roots, making them stronger. If she stays and completes her bridge, it will become part of the commuter route here; a network of dozens of living bridges that connect the valleys of Meghalaya. Some of them are many centuries old--there are even double-deckers.
Harley: "This living bridge will grow for 500 years. Your children will use it... and your children's children."
Narrator: With Juliana to look after it, the future of this young bridge looks secure. Sustainable living architecture that will live and grow for generations.
posted by TedW at 8:29 AM on November 4, 2011