An eco-tourist’s paradise

THE Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul is a popular destination for ‘eco-tourists’, praised for its ‘dropping forest-covered canyons’.

But nature-loving Miss Brewster could also have been attracted by the remote region’s ‘ecovillage’ commune near Dom Jose, where adherents aim to live at one with the natural world and farm sustainably. It is thought her boyfriend, also a fan of a hippy lifestyle, had visited the project and she could have gone to meet him.

It is run by UniPermacultura and governed by the principles of permaculture – a farming technique that aims to emulate natural cycles and ‘create a sustainable human settlement’ – but criticised by some as hippy pseudo-science.

Created in 201 , photos online show participants living in simple clay huts with grass roofs, working the land collectively. Others show men and women eating together and playing music.

Missing Miss Brewster was a member of Facebook groups supporting permaculture projects. She had shared many optimistic environmental messages.