But this was only the beginning… One part of the survey dealt with recycling and many people complained about the lack of recycling bins and hoped for more recycling options. I finished conducting the survey in January and flew to Finland for a holiday. When I came back in February, I was shocked (in a positive way ). The municipality of Be’er Sheva had launched its new recycling program and in February alone 1400 new recycling bins were placed on the streets of Beer Sheva as well as in educational institutions. The change on the streets was huge. The first days after coming back I felt that I only saw recycling bins everywhere. I was laughing to myself that maybe someone in Gimmel thinks that the survey made the change happen. And it didn’t take long for the first people to address me expressing their thankfulness for the new recycling bins. And again, it didn’t really help to explain that I had nothing to do with the change.

Many respondents hoped for playgrounds for the children or for new parks. And I guess you already know that I’m about to write that it happened as well. This spring Gimmel got at least one new area like that. Also, many people complained about the condition of the roads. And what do you know, some roads in Gimmel are now being improved.

Altogether 372 residents of Gimmel answered to the survey, 140 of them I interviewed personally. I spent countless hours and days on the roads of Gimmel and not only on the roads, also in so many living rooms and on yards. I listened to so many life stories and really learnt to love Gimmel and its people <3 So if you are ever in Be’er Sheva, I recommend you to explore Gimmel. It might surprise you

I also want to say goodbye to all of you since I’m now finishing my year of internship at Earth’s Promise. It’s been good, I’ll miss everyone. But now it’s time to step into new adventures -Heli

Purim is a time of joy and craziness and a lot of this energy has been channeled in the past years into big merchandised Purim parades that leave behind stringlets of festivities, junk chunks of jubilation and empty pockets…

Here in Be’er-Sheva it’s the second year that we are offering an alternative to all of that. A cooperation of several organizations and local businesses that bring a central street in a small neighborhood alive with sound jives, creativity spots and activism opportunities. This Adloyada has brought together for the second year local residents, university students and offers a platform for environmental and social organizations to increase their crowd of activists.

This year beyond the happy grand dancing in the streets there was also our stand that gives the full story of how to compost, a mini organic farmers market, an arts & crafts corner for recycled decorations and masks and more. I believe there is never just one way, to work, to create, to live. So it is part of our sustainable agenda to provide alternatives to the mainstream and new options beyond the mind numbing commercial craze.

In March we hosted new groups of the JNF Alternative Spring Break program. In this program American college students take the time of their spring holiday to volunteer all over the south. We have been hosting these groups during the past three years. The work that these amazing students have been doing in the garden is very meaningful and really makes a difference. Together we have been developing the garden a lot!

We of course worked in the garden itself, this time also in the newly opened part of our community garden. In addition we worked on the public area, located really close to the garden, that we wish to turn into a more pleasant area.

This time we, among other things, created a new raised bed for the children’s garden, new green house for summer saplings, a mud wall to beautify the field kitchen and of course mud layers for our various earth benches. The group played with mud, gain experience in carpentry, weed, hoed, planted and especially enjoyed with us two days in the chilly sun (and let’s not forget to pray for the rains of blessings).

October 2010

In the middle of October Earth’s Promise participated in a social-environmental street party on the Ringelblum street in Be’er Sheva’s Dalet neighborhood. We celebrated, together with the neighborhood, the fact that the businesses on the street received “social seal”.

This social mark tells the consumers that the place where they are eating cares for fairness and e.g. is accessible for handicapped persons. So eating in a place that has the mark is not just a matter of enjoying oneself but also a way to advance equality and equal rights to everyone.

The street was full of life: music, dancing, activities for families, different social and environmental organizations with their stands, people of all ages celebrating together for free

The main job of Earth’s Promise in the event was to teach about composting and to promote the Compost Network. Many heard about composting for the first time in their life. But many were also those who came to ask about composting opportunities in the city. Through the event we were also happy to have an addition of two new composters in the network.

March 2010 – Puringelblum

Earth’s Promise participated in the environmental Purim feast, Puringelblum, that took place on the Ringelblum street in the Dalet neighborhood in Be’er Sheva. The street and its surroundings teemed with happy people wandering from one stand to another. At the compost stand of Earth’s Promise they received teaching about composting. Earth’s Promise also organized a mud building workshop in the event.

Awareness about composting is growing little by little. Our Compost network is also becoming more and more known. We were happy to have people coming to our stand asking “Is it here that you can find out where and how to compost in Be’er Sheva?”

If you’ve ever composted then you know what I’m talking about. There is magic to transforming the unwanted and orphaned fruits and vegetables in your fridge or from your plate, in to rich and fragrant earth. The process is redemptive. Trash in to treasure. To be sure, it is modern day alchemy as old as time itself. The internal process of renewal and transformation that the person composting undergoes is equally amazing. It may sound trite, but composting can change your life.

With all that in mind, and the fact that Israel is quickly running out of places to put its waste, Earth’s Promise and Green Course, with the help of the Green Campus Forum launched the dormitory compost program at the BGU student dorms last Wednesday. The goal is to engage the student population in questions of ecology and community, while reducing the harmful environmental effects of current waste management practices (transportation pollution, loss of open space to landfills, greenhouse gasses emitted from landfills, etc).

For a full visual recap of the event, check out the pictures on our Facebook Page.

In total, there are approximately 8700 Ethiopian Jews waiting to make Aliyah. Unfortunately though,  the process is taking an extraordinary amount of time. One reason for this is that most of the remaining Ethiopian Jews are considered to be Falash Murah. Ethiopian Jews who were forcibly converted to Christianity more than a century ago.

The good news is, the Israeli government (specifically Interior Minister Eli Yishai) has made it a priority to resolve the Ethiopian Aliyah issue within a year.  Promises have been made before, so I’m skeptical, but I’m glad to hear that the issue is still being discussed. You can read the full article here.