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Why a love pod? Imagine creating a resistance in ancient tree tops with platforms, nets and determined activists, only to have it destroyed by eviction, placing the forest and the lives of activists in danger. The love pod was created by earth defenders who had seen and heard of one too many tree sit evictions and knew there was a solution. Plans sprouted from rough sketches in the dirt to the real thing this fall at Headwaters. The love pod became a steel-skinned, multi-panel tree house that's designed to provide raid-proof housing for tree villagers. Visualize a metal disc around a giant redwood, over 100 feet up, like a collar on a ship's mast line, but infinitely more comfortable. Make it large enough for a wild bunch of eco-warriors with food to last them a few months. Include a golden teepee cover wrapped around the support ropes, add some water storage barrels and solar powered communication equipment.
The core of the platform is a steel cable and machine alloy block anchor, into which 15 seven-foot steel bars bolt. These beams can pivot at the anchor, allowing the whole structure to move with the tree. There is a second set of steel cable anchors 14 feet above the suspension ropes (one for each spar) to clip into. Fifteen wedge-shaped, bonded plywood and sheet metal panels slip into alloy plate retainers. Upon completion, the love pod forms a living room 18 feet in diameter. It's effective because the panels stick seven feet out all the way around the tree, forming a seamless barrier against eviction.
The original vision was to erect two love pods with a walkway in between suspending hammocks and a giant banner. At Headwaters this fall, due to strategy and logistics, a single love pod was set up with a cargo net stretched between six trees, along with a few traverses and platforms. North Coast Earth First! gave the love pod it's first test.
So, how to build a love pod? First, understand that all the measurements are variable, so smaller pods on smaller trees are definitely possible. If you have a favorite tree, it's possible to dimension a "custom" pod for your own village. The size of this first pod was largely determined by the materials we were able to procure with our limited budget. The design transfers approximately one-third of the weight radically inward onto 15 alloy blocks, preventing the tree from being ringed by the steel cables, which are necessary for installation. There are numerous safety mechanisms built into the structure, so inquire if you have questions as to how to build each piece. Please don't substitute materials or hardware.
In addition to the love pod structure, you will need proper training and gear for each climber. Other accessories include water containers, cooking utensils, first aid, communication equipment and cameras, as well as food for a month or two.
The cost for one full-sized pod is approximately $2,000. Allow approximately 200 hours to assemble everything. The next consideration is how to transport the materials. We built a couple of bikes with steel frames (similar to a glass rack) that worked fine in rehearsal, but because of the deployment group's inexperience, a wheel collapsed on each "horse."
We have prepared an information packet with detailed drawings, pictures and notes that we will gladly send to anyone interested in building a pod. I feel that '98 is the year of the tree village, and I hope that scores of activists become inspired to take to the trees. Good Luck!
Contact Fairfax Action Team, POB 393, Lagunitas, CA 94938; e-mail: fat@grin.net.