Atlantis is a gutsy tribe of three generations, mainly English, Irish and Colombian; present age range: 18 months to 65 years. Numbers vary constantly but there is a steady central nucleus of about 7 people; hundreds of visitors pass through for long or short stays over the years. Dedicated to by-passing "civilization," we formed in London in 1970, moving to an Irish island in 1974 then to the Colombian Andes in 1987. We began as a therapeutic community, later shifting our emphasis to ecology and food self-sufficiency. We ran a 'Green Theatre' in Colombia for many years with the commune children as the main performers. Now grown up, some of the girls of our group are accomplished musicians, composers, artists and dancers. None of the children had any formal schooling whatsoever. They were taught to work on practical farm tasks from an early age, and allowed complete physical (and sexual) freedom, as long as the adults' space was not intruded upon. We're vegetarian, atheist, and revolutionary politically. Our food is organically grown. We don't use drugs or smoke and stick to alternative medicine wherever possible; our lifestyle on the farm is 100 percent ecological; we reject practically all twentieth-century values. We have at present 35 hectares of forests, meadows, gardens, rivers and streams at around 5,000-foot with a mild climate. We accept hard physical work as part of natural living, but include lots of fun, theatre, music, psychic activities (astrology and readings)dancing and various types of therapy.

Visitors welcome any time without charge or announcement, but they need to have a sense of humor, a willingness to say what they think, and to be well rooted in the physical world. We are not "politically correct" in any way, so if you are, prepare to be outraged! Donations of seeds for our organic-farming campaign among Colombian peasants and Indians gratefully accepted.

There are 10 books about the commune available, see: www.deunantbooks.com, Atlantis section.

Enquiries welcome: atlantiscol@hotmail.com

We still have an 'embassy' in Ireland in Baltimore, Co. Cork and you can visit us there to find out more and meet some of the commune members.