Volunteer!

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).

Experience of running a practical and theoretical sustainability course for youth movement leaders

During the summer of 2010 (northern hemisphere) we worked together with a group of youth movement leaders from South American Zionist youth movements.

The group consisted of 20 young youth leaders, mainly from Brazil and a few from Argentina and Uruguay.

The group came to our garden three times a week, from early morning (from their perspective). We beautified and developed the garden and its surroundings. Afternoon we met for sustainability and environmental education studies.

The aim of the work in the garden was to experience practical hands on sustainable physical work, while developing and contributing to the garden.

The desert heat challenged the group, but they managed to do a lot of work:

After collecting cactus cuttings, we created with them a diverse cactus garden, on a neglected pile of building waste.

We built a mud bench, that overviews the both parts of the garden.

Creating a terrace for local Israeli plants- was quite a strenuous project, but the outcome is amazing.

We also applied organic farming principals on a few garden beds.

In the afternoon classes we studied about environmental challenges and sustainable alternatives: water crisis, over consumption, garbage production, energy, etc.  After each subject we learnt – the group was asked to suggest ways of creating educational activities or actions on the issues. This gave the group, environmental educational tools to work with, in their youth movements.

The group finished the project, with a guided tour they gave proudly to their youth movement colleagues. They showed the work they did-and explained the treason behind it.

The course was very influential for the group, garden and me. This was the first sustainable course I gave, so I learnt and taught a lot. I’m already expecting the next group, to improve and deepen the course and the work.

Wishing you sustainable good day Levi Hughes

On my first day of volunteering with the group, I along with very keen and amazing leaders form the camp Ramah cleared a littered and disused open space near to the garden. I was astounded with the improvement we have made to the open space. We transformed it from a dump site to a neat space for the Olim and others to hang out in. We even managed to build two mud benches with the unbelievable guidance of Chen from the ‘Earth’s Promise’ team

On my second day of volunteering with another group from the States, we re-did the kitchen area. Using the old tyres as a base for various plants. We refilled the tyres with mud, sand and straw, utilizing Be’er Sheva’s completely natural and accessible resources. It’s quite amazing what a group can achieve with so little time. Kol Ha-Kavod to everyone!

Reports from the field indicate that not only did everyone who participated in the events have a blast, but they were also incredibly productive. Benches were built out of old tires, trash, mud, and straw (a process that has gained a lot of traction because of the folks at Kibbutz Lotan’s Center for Creative Ecology). Fire pits were prepared for evening cook outs and social events (just in time for Lag B’Omer). And a brand new, playground sized version of chutes and ladders was painted in the kindergarten area. All that, in addition to the invaluable cultural exchanges that took place all day between the ASBers, the Ethiopian Olim, and the rest of the Earth’s Promise family.

The one question I want to pose in light of all this good will is, at what cost? It is great to have the infusion of energy that the ASBers bring to B7 when they come. However, they are also an outside resource and if the local community is going to develop self reliance than is it the right thing to do to accept third party help?

I don’t know the answer, but I do know I sure like it when the ASBers come to town!

Israeli company S.D.E. Energy, developer of an innovative technology for generating electricity from sea waves, has signed an agreement for selling sea wave power plants in China for an undisclosed sum.

Construction of the power plants will be financed by investors from Hong Kong and China. Two joint venture companies, formed in Hong Kong for the purpose of the agreement by S.D.E. and its investors, will build an initial model in Guangzhou province in southern China. Should the model prove to be successful, it will launch the establishment of sea wave power plants throughout China.

The S.D.E. process is subject to the approval of the government of China, which it intends to target as the sole customer for the electricity generated.

Electricity shortages in China are worsening every day and current energy sources are problematic: fossil fuels increase the country’s already intolerable levels of air and environmental pollution; nuclear power plants and hydroelectric stations are highly susceptible to earthquake damage; typhoons make building wind farms extremely difficult, and solar systems are costly.

With prices of crude oil rising fast, there is new interest in alternative sources of energy, and the idea of generating power from sea waves is becoming increasingly attractive, according to S.D.E.

The Tel Aviv company’s system produces renewable and clean energy from sea waves, which it claims have the potential to supply four times more energy per square meter than wind power. The system’s advantages are high efficiency, ability to modulate energy storage capabilities, and relatively low cost for construction and generation of electricity.

According to S.D.E., the cost of erecting a one megawatt wave power station starts at $650,000, compared with $900,000 for a similarly-sized natural gas station; $1.5 million for a coal-fired or wind-powered station; and $3 million for a solar power station.

US investors have taken note of S.D.E.’s advances, managing director Shmuel Ovadia told ISRAEL21c. “We’re currently in talks to raise $100 million from US investors, and we’re negotiating building a 30 MW sea wave power plant in San Francisco at a cost of $20 million.”

The first commercial, full-scale model of the system, capable of generating 40 electrical kilowatts (eKW) has been working successfully for a year and is located at the Jaffa Port in Tel Aviv-Yafo.