APW: Observe and Learn

I have difficulty entering through the main entrance.
Though it tends to be the most accessible,
Well paved and immaculately landscaped,
It is also the most expected.

And when one follows the path of what is expected,
The future offers this idea of comfort, familiarity and knowing,
Though concerning what is to come,
Aside from certain organic propensities,
Patterns of growth and general seasonal tides,
Nothing is known.

 

I have been living on a Kibbutz in the Arava Desert in Israel for the last two weeks.  It is the smallest Kibbutz in Israel, and is in the process of privatizing (a trend for nearly all kibbutzim in Israel it would seem), therefore it is losing some of the traditional ideals it was founded on.   It began as many others with the Zionist movement, though this one practices Reform Judaism (very rare in Israel, much more popular in the states), and has evolved into something truly unique and most extraordinary.

Through a handful of Kibbutz Members who had a dream, this place has grown and affected the lives of many visitors who walk through the land, and has created a home and community for those who live here.  It shares a common structure with most Kibbutzim.  They raise cows for Dairy and have multiple large scale Date Orchards.   All the essential and desirable structures of a community, from dining hall to football field (soccer) to pool to bomb shelter (also functioning as a library) to gardens to classrooms are here, and then there is the side that most attracted me to this place.  The Center for Creative Ecology.  There is an Eco-Campus and Eco-Park, along with all the natural (mud) building and alternative energy sources (mostly solar) found throughout the Kibbutz.

Everywhere you look in the Eco Centers on the kibbutz you draw inspiration.  From the parabolic solar ovens to window gardens, to the finely crafted animal playground made from mud and tires to the sheetmulched and seed saving gardens.   Recycled art fills the landscape like beautifully organized scattered trash, and mature trees surrounded by beneficial plants fill up the once barren desert.  A tea house, offering healthy food options utilizes the plants grown on the land for produce and dried herbal teas.  Not to mention the stunning beauty of the Arava in a valley where one watches the sun and moon rise to the east over the vivid red and oranges of the Jordanian Mountains.

I have come here not as a volunteer on the kibbutz or an eco-volunteer, not as a becoming member of the kibbutz or as a visitor from Israel.  I am not a part of the Green Apprenticeship (although I would very much like to be one day) and I am not just passing through for a few days, but instead staying for a month.

I consider myself very fortunate to have this experience.  To become involved in the EcoCampus for a brief period and help contribute in any way I can.  I bring with me a background of organic gardening, nursery work, some alternative building and experience with Permaculture Design, and more experience in community living.   I have found work also at a nearby Kibbutz, where I bike ride to work and help with the growing of arid medicinal plants and erecting a shade structure the size of one dunam. 

After the first week I have found my rhythm and routine here, from watering the plants in the morning, feeding the chickens, feeding the BioGas, stretching and starting the work day at first light.  Then there is either work in the garden, mostly seed saving and maintaining the container gardens as we approach the hot season rendering it very difficult to grow plants in the desert without shade and ample water (both in limited supply), and maintaining all the natural building structures (such as 'painting' on the roof our dome kitchen another layer of mud.  We all live in domes in the EcoCampus, designed with passive solar heating to effectively keep the inside of the structure warm in winter and cool in summer.

I am learning here through observation.  The mode of kibbutz life begins with take what you need, give what you can, and you can see the place thrive and take care of you.  Everyone here wears many hats, one of the head gardeners is also the rabbi, the natural building instructer is also in charge of marketing and networking, people overlap working in the dairy, the orchards, the kitchen and the cleaning crew etc.  And there are some absolutely incredibly individuals who do a little bit of everything.  I am watching the plants too, reacting to the especially hot sun, the unseasonal storm, how they thrive when the spacing is adequate or stretch for the sun when everything is densely compact, how they respond to the compost tea in different dosages, how different varieties of the same plant grow substantially different, and which is best for the next season to save the seeds. 

Everywhere you go, before you so eagerly interact, it is most appropriate and important to take a step back and observe and then you and the environment can both mutually benefit each other.  It is contrary to this attitude that we are at the state we are at with our planet, both socially and environmentally.

You may wonder how did I arrive here in the first place and find myself under these circumstances.  Very simply, I showed up.   I had a contact through a friend who lived here.  I talked to many people.  I observed.  And I saw where I could help, and then I offered it.  Yes, having a skillset is beneficial.  Though when you know the environment you are seeking and have an intention of what you hope to learn, the path to pursuit becomes more clear.  This experience is very rich for me and I do not need to receive money to feel like I am growing from it.

In a sense, I have tried to live my life like this, and I am grateful for who I have become in the last 5 years while following this philosophy.  In a month I will return to the states.  It will be the first time I am going without a plane ticket out in 5 years (not including Hawai'i as the states).  I will observe what has changed and how I have changed.  And I hope to share valuable time with family and friends.  It will certainly be a culture shock, perhaps on the same level as life in Nepal.  I will write more in the future on this. 

Tentative schedule:

Now to June 21 :: Israel -> New York
June 21 to July to Aug :: NY -> Colorado -> California -> New Mexico -> North Carolina (Maybe like this)
August to Dec :: North Carolina - Fall Semester at Warren Wilson College

And a short piece here that I wrote recently concerning affairs in this modern world:

Evolution has brought us this far, and in this last century, we have dangerously chosen to play the role of God with our intelligence. 

I would like to say that nothing is lost, nothing is forgotten, but this would be a lie.  We have lost thousands and thousands of species, languages and cultures in our efforts of becoming conquerors as opposed to harmonious with the natural world.  There are many efforts to unify people, to bring them together, though this is not usually an appropriate measure to take. 

In an ideal world, people would be peaceful and content in their place, feeling strong with their own culture and roots and having the opportunity to travel.  Every region would have a local market that can provide its sustenance and be able to trade for what is beneficial.    If one lives in alpine climates where snow covers the ground in winter and this person feels they cannot live without tropical fruit, they should consider relocating.

We are at interest crux on this planet.  And it is interesting because it is not expected, yet it is created, almost entirely, by man.  Everything in the last century occurred so quickly.  And while damage can be done so quickly, it is a long process to restore something back to its pristine state, and we are not accustomed now for waiting for life to happen.  We have grown to a place where we have found control and urges and we wish to see results and gain satisfaction immediately.  Life ought not to be viewed as a race to the finish, but as an enjoyable walk through a park.

To begin to regenerate landscapes, not only to a state of sustainability, but into a nature as diverse, complex and thriving as a rainforest, it begins with a change of mindset. It begins with small steps and patience, with positive and comprehensive thinking.  Once this mindset is achieved and the principles and ethics are solid, we can begin to approach each unique landscape and culture appropriately, not using the same uniform model because it worked once somewhere else.

We have grown into something larger than we can handle.  Though we have made tremendous leaps in our research, there has been many casualties, and there will continue to be.  If we can begin to eliminate our desire for wanting more and faster results, we can turn around and begin to repair some of what was lost.  However, the trend continues in the opposite direction.  Best advice:  Get children involved in garden classrooms and community service programs with great mentors that will stay with them for the rest of their life, so they in turn will be able to impact the next generation positively.  Teach them how to observe and how to learn instead of what to learn.

Keep it small, keep it local.

Happy growing,

Matthew