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Instead of buying a home, 22-year-old spends life savings on a chunk of raw Colombian jungle

Why fight traffic when you can live with the monkey and harvest avocados?

Canva Photos

A 22-year-old spent his life savings not on a house, but on a jungle.

There comes a time in every young person's life where you find yourself facing down the path laid out for you. All the things you're "supposed" to do: get a college education, land a good job, make enough money so you can save up and eventually reach the mountaintop of buying your own home.

The problem is that settling down and buying property has become ridiculously, ludicrously out of reach for a lot of young people. Price-to-income ratios are the highest they've ever been in the history of the United States, and many of the new generation of adults who have achieved the dream of owning their own home have found it to be... a trap! Yes, there are a lot of amazing benefits to being a homeowner, but it can also be a massive drain on your finances, your time, and your freedom.

One Gen Z man is documenting his attempt at doing things a little differently. Instead of investing in his first house, he spent his life savings on 7.5 acres of undeveloped jungle in Colombia.

Twenty-two year old Robert Lennox-Hvenekilde from Denmark has always been an adventurer. He's been filming his outdoorsy-escapades on TikTok for years. But a recent trip to Colombia left the Gen Z-er inspired to take his interest in nature to the next level.

"[I] realized that there were a lot of people living in these areas of the world who were maybe not rich in an economic sense, but they just seemed extremely free and to have an extremely high quality of life," he told Newsweek.

He decided to do something a lot of people only dream or fantasize about: he wanted to live in Colombia, among nature, and create a sustainable homestead for himself. So, after months of researching, networking, and negotiations, he was able to purchase three hectares of undeveloped land for about $40,000. That equates to roughly five or six football fields, for reference.

The jungle land Lennox-Hvenekilde now calls home features a fresh water stream, avocado and other fruit trees, and sugar cane.

He's currently building a small structure on the land to live in, and he plans to be a good caretaker of the land. Outside of harvesting fruit and avocado to eat and sell, he says he'll continue to plant and nurture native plant species to provide a habitat for the several species of endangered monkeys living there. Lennox-Hvenekilde also says his property came with special trees planted specifically for wood production, which he's using to create his dwelling.

"I would not cut down any of the native jungle," he says.

Watch him give an amazing tour of his new home here:

@roba_tron

Property break down #4you #foru #danmark #wildlife #nature #dk #offgrid

Nearly two million people were fascinated by the wild video. Many were inspired by a way of life they'd previously thought completely unattainable.

"Dream life"

"can i come join you... sounds amazing"

"Bro made the best decision of his live"

It looks incredible on camera: the vibrant greens of the rainforest, working with your hands instead of staring at a computer all day, never having to commute or deal with rude strangers out in public. Where do I sign up!?

Still, others had mixed feelings:

"Please take care of the land and his water. Is our job to protect our nature. Plant trees and native flowers," one user implored.

More than a few commenters were uncomfortable with an outsider buying up endangered jungle land in a foreign country, likening it to gentrification.

Lennox-Hvenekilde's response has been that it's better for someone like him to take a small piece of the land for living, and harvest and care for the rest. In comparison, mass farmers burn down hundreds of thousands of acres of rainforest every single year in Colombia to make room for their crops. In comparison, the 22-year-old's impact will be extremely minimal.

@roba_tron

Project Property #4you #foru #wildlife #nature #offgrid #cabin #adventure #danmark #dk

We've all had the fantasy at one time or another. Disappear, leave our entire life and Earthly possessions behind, and flee deep into nature. Live off the land. Create a simpler life for ourselves. Be happy.

In fact, interest in off-grid living has been steadily growing in popularity due to factors like rising costs, fierce political division, and an increasingly hectic and stressful modern lifestyle.

For most of us, though, the thought remains a fantasy. As appealing as it sounds, the idea of actually saying goodbye to our career, friends, family, and human pleasures is a little frightening. Worse is when we realize that living off the grid is a ridiculous amount of work. Sourcing our own food and fresh water? Having little to no access to medical care if we were to get injured or sick?

@roba_tron

Day 36 #4you #foru #wildlife #nature #offgrid #cabin #danmark

It took a lot of bravery for Lennox-Hvenekilde to take such a big leap the way he did. But his journey is not without its dangers. His viewers worry he might have run ins with the infamous Colombian drug cartels, which operate in the rainforest growing coca, which is used to make cocaine. And then there are all the bears, jaguars, and creepy crawlies.

"But how are the spiders?" one commenter asked Lennox-Hvenekilde. "Big," he said.

Yeah, on second thought, maybe that commute doesn't sound quite so bad.

Fellow chocolate lovers, you're going to be soooooo giddy about this news.

As someone who keeps a bag of chocolate chips going at all times, I've often found myself bummed out by reports on the chocolate industry. Many chocolate producers use cocoa harvested by child labor, which is totally not OK. (It's why I try to buy fair-trade chocolate whenever possible.) Some national parks in West Africa have been demolished to make room for more cocoa farms — again, not OK.

But some recent news out of Brazil has us chocolate fans jumping for joy over our beloved cacao bean.


Dried cacao beans. The magic has already begun. Photo by Yasuyoshi Chiba/Getty Images.

According to a report from Reuters, Brazilian cattle ranchers are starting to transform their used-up pastures into cocoa farms. Cattle ranchers have been the primary drivers of the deforestation of the Amazon rainforest. (You know, that big bunch of trees that provides 20% of the Earth's oxygen.)

Thanks to environmental regulations, ranchers are restricted from clearing more of the forest to graze their cows.

Clearcutting the Amazon rainforest to graze cattle? No, thank you. Filling this land with cacao trees? Yes, please. Photo by Antonio Scorza/Getty Images.

And thanks to cows who eat gargantuan amounts of grass each day, ranched land is becoming too depleted to continue growing grass to feed them. So ranchers are moving in a new direction — toward chocolate.

"Move toward chocolate" is pretty much my life motto, so I'm totally feeling this change. And thankfully, so are environmental groups.

Because deforestation for ranching has had such a detrimental impact on the Amazon region, alternative use of land that includes planting greenery is a welcome change. Both The Nature Conservancy and the Amazon Fund — a Brazilian government initiative to combat deforestation — support the move to plant "chocolate forests." They're even helping finance new cocoa plantations, with the Amazon Fund giving more than $5 million in grants to cocoa farmers.

A cocoa farmer in Brazil checks his crop for me. I mean, not exactly for me, but kinda for me. I'll happily buy your chocolate, sir. Photo by Yasoyoshi Chiba/Getty Images.

That's good news for ranchers-turned-farmers because according to a study done by Brazilian environmental group Imaflora, cocoa can be up to five times more profitable than cows.

"Besides being a means of avoiding deforestation," The Nature Conservancy said on its website, "cocoa plantations favor the local, regional and national economy."

I'm going to forgive The Nature Conservancy for their lack of an Oxford comma because hello, more chocolate!

Is there anything more beautiful than a big ol' bin of chocolate with a big ol' scoop in it? Maybe the Amazon rainforest. Could be a tie. Photo by Stephen Chemin/Getty Images.

Ranchers trading in cows for cocoa means less Earth-killing deforestation and more life-giving chocolate. In other words, all our dreams are coming true.

Let's just recap, because I can't get over the awesomeness of this news:

The Amazon rainforest affects everyone in the world as does its destruction. Not only does a fifth of the oxygen we breathe get produced there, but the process of deforestation also adds more greenhouse gases to the atmosphere.

Deforestation = bad. Chocolatization = good.

A farmer in Brazil tending to drying cacao beans. I like him a lot. Photo by Yasuyoshi Chiba/Getty Images.

Not only can cocoa farms can help reclaim some of the Amazon land that's been clear cut for cattle ranching, but ranchers-turned-farmers can make more money and have a more sustainable livelihood with cocoa. Boom.

Economic prosperity = also good.

And then there's the environmental aspect. Cocoa farms offer many of the same benefits as natural forests, absorbing carbon dioxide, boosting water resources, and helping revive native plants and wildlife.

In addition, some environmental group funding includes a mandate that farmers plant native species, such as mahogany and ipê, along with the cocoa plants. Taller trees provide shade for the cocoa and help replenish the natural landscape.

Reforestation = so much good.

Look at all the pretty green. Life-giving oxygen, life-giving cacao pods. Perfect. Photo by Yasuyoshi Chiba/Getty Images.

Did I mention this also means more chocolate for us? *HAPPY DANCE*

The chocolate industry has taken a big hit in recent years. I've seen several reports of a "chocolate crisis" due to disease, weather, failed crops, etc. Some experts have even predicted a global chocolate shortage in the next few years. 

OMG, THAT'S SO NOT OK.

This is why a cocoa boom in the Amazon is extra, extra good news for us chocoholics. And the fact that this boom is also helping the environment — in addition to helping farmers in Brazil's struggling economy — means we can feel extra good about our chocolate habits.

I feel you, Lucy. GIF via "I Love Lucy."

I'm telling you, this is Cubs-win-the-World-Series kind of news. I'm just going to revel in it as I toss back my daily serving of chocolate chips. (Fair trade, natch.)

Cheers, chocoholics!

When Philippe Echaroux, a French street artist, heard about how deforestation is affecting the Surui tribe in the Brazilian Amazon, he decided to throw a massive spotlight on it — literally.

One of several portraits of Surui tribe members. Photo by Philippe Echaroux, used with permission.

He did this by creating portraits of Surui tribe members, then projecting them in light, using the Amazon as his canvas. He calls this method of painting trees with light Street Art 2.0 because it goes beyond spray-painting a wall; it allows him to put a powerful message anywhere without doing any damage and take it down as quickly as he put it up.


In this case, the project's message is as simple and powerful as the portraits themselves. As Echaroux explains: "When you cut down a tree, it's like putting down a man."

He chose members of the Surui tribe as the focus of the project because the tribe is being directly affected by deforestation.

Photo by Philippe Echaroux, used with permission.

How bad is deforestation in Brazil? Here's what parts of the Brazilian Amazon look like today:

Northern Brazil. Photo by Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP/Getty Images.

For the Surui tribe, whose reserve is about the size of Rhode Island, the fight for land is often unfair — going back to 1969, when the Brazilian government lured them out of their rainforest home, according to the Washington Post. That infringement on the Surui's land caused disease to spread, food supplies to dwindle, and homes to be destroyed, all of which resulted in a population drop from 5,000 to just above 250.

The tribe has been fighting to preserve what little of their rainforest habitat it has left ever since. Today, that means trying to stop illegal logging — one of the main causes of deforestation in Brazil, according to Scientific American.

In 2007, the current Surui chief, Almir Narayamoga Surui, launched an innovative and high-tech plan to curtail illegal logging.

Photo by Philippe Echaroux, used with permission.

The tribe, whose population has rebounded to 1,350, uses Google Earth to monitor such illegal activity and report it to the authorities, ABC News reported. But 1,500 square miles of rainforest is rather expansive for one small tribe to keep tabs on, so, despite their best efforts, deforestation continues to eat away at their land.

That's why, Echaroux says, Chief Almir called on him to bring Street Art 2.0 to the Amazon, where his art "could help them be known, and make their difficulties known too."

The message Echaroux is illuminating on the Amazon is meant to make the world realize deforestation is an epidemic, and that the Surui are some of its human victims.

Photo by Philippe Echaroux, used with permission.

We lose 46,000-58,000 square miles of forest each year.

That's about 48 football fields every minute, according to the World Wildlife Fund. In that way, there couldn't be a more perfect medium for this artistic call to action.

Photo by Philippe Echaroux, used with permission.

This is the first time Echaroux has used his work to elevate an environmental issue, and he hopes the message inspires people to constructively help curtail deforestation efforts.

Photo by Philippe Echaroux, used with permission.

There are a lot of ways you can do this in your daily life, whether it's making a concerted effort to eat and use more local and sustainable foods (here's a handy guide for how to find them) or reducing your wood consumption as much as possible (and when you do have to buy paper, buying the kind with the highest recyclable content).

If you want to help the Surui directly, you can go to their website and sign a petition to stop illegal logging in the Brazilian Amazon. Or if you want to learn how to help the other indigenous tribes affected by deforestation in the Amazon, Survival International is a great resource. The fight to preserve the rainforests is an ongoing battle for many indigenous tribes, and it's one that shows no signs of slowing. They need all the help they can get to protect their resources and homes.

The Surui may be one small tribe, but their conservation struggle is emblematic of cultures the world over. Hopefully these brightly lit creations will help make that abundantly clear.

Norway is a pretty amazing place.

I mean DAMN. Photo by Ekornesvaag Svein Ove/AFP/Getty Images.


First of all, it's the happiest country in the world, according to a Forbes ranking. Probably because of all that delicious Norwegian salmon they get to eat. Which, by the way, they introduced to Japan in the 1970s — effectively inventing salmon sushi.

Thanks, Norway!

Norway has also done some pretty amazing things for the planet and the battle against climate change.

To be fair, Norway has a stockpile of over $800 billion from oil sales that it's been saving since the 1990s. That's a LOT of cash earned by profiting on fossil fuels.

That said, the internal workings of the country are super-green and getting greener.

They use hydropower to supply 95% of their electricity, and they plan to have net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 — a lofty goal that they're well on their way to completing.

Norway also does a lot for trees.

Trees! Photo by Johannes Simon/Getty Images.

Look around you. Do you see any trees? (Try going outside first.) How about now? See any?

I hope you do, because if you're near a tree, that means you're near a thing whose job it is to soak up greenhouse gases (like CO2) and pump out oxygen for you to breathe.

So go up to the tree and thank it. I'm not kidding. High-five that sucker and tell it it's doing a good job.

Trees are great for the climate, which means forests are REALLY great for the climate. Norway wants to protect those forests so they can keep helping us out.

A patch of rainforest in Borneo that was cleared for palm oil production. Photo by Bay Ismoyo/AFP/Getty Images.

Norway recently worked with Brazil to help save the Amazon rainforest, which was disappearing rapidly due to deforestation. But their commitment to forests didn't stop there.

Norway just made history by committing to zero deforestation.

What does that mean, exactly?

Well, as the World Resources Institute points out ... it's complicated and means different things to different people. But what it comes down to is that Norway's committing to avoid buying or using items that come from deforested areas.

Indonesia has some of the worst deforestation in the world. Photo by Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images.

Many private-sector companies have taken a similar pledge, but Norway is the first country to take it. This sets a new precedent for governments that want to act in a big way on climate change. 

“This is an important victory in the fight to protect the rainforest," Nils HermannRanum of Rainforest Foundation Norway said in a statement, urging other countries like Germany and the U.K. to step up to match Norway's game.

The best part of Norway's commitment: You can make it too!

Committing to zero deforestation isn't limited to corporations and governments. There are many ways to ensure that you, as an individual, don't contribute to the rapid loss of forests.

Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images.

You can go paperless. You can look for the FSC seal on paper and wood products. You can try going vegetarian. (Do one vegetarian day a week if the full commitment scares you.) Or plant a tree! Plant a glorious tree and high-five it every day for encouragement.

We can all help save the world's forests, and the fact that Norway is stepping up as an entire country to help out is particularly awesome.

Hopefully this is only the start.