No bus accidents!
We had breakfast and took walks around the kibbutz. Some of the class took a tour of the ball-valve plant, owned and operated by the kibbutz. We loaded the bus and saw the Negev Desert for the first time in daylight. On one side of the road we noticed Israeli military conducting military operations. On the other side we saw a Bedouin community. Their temporary dwellings used to be tents and are now metal sheds with some permanent structures. Along the way our tour guide discussed some of the political issues with the Bedouin communities and the Israeli government.
During our 45-minute drive to our first meeting we couldn’t but help to notice the very arid and dry conditions of the Negev desert. We wondered how communities and people once traveled these deserts to survive and transport goods.
We arrived at our first stop of the day at Netafim where Itik Inbar greeted us. Itik serves as the marketing arm for Netafim in their Egypt sales. Itik outlined the history of the Hizzarim Kibbutz that eventually purchased the technology of drip irrigation. He provided us with a presentation on the history of drip irrigation and the future potentials this technology can achieve.
The development of a drip irrigation system took almost 5 years to develop. The biggest challenge was taking pressurized water and slowing it down to allow for a slow drip. After the kibbutz bought the patent, they began to introduce to Israeli farmers. Israel has a water shortage and a growing population therefore requiring water conservation. Due to the success of the drip system, 90% of Israel’s domestic consumption of vegetables is grown in the desert. Netafim has also developed nano irrigation, subsurface drip irrigation, low-pressure systems and advanced Ag technology for greenhouses. For the future, Netafim is developing crop management technology and precise nutrigation via state-of-the-art technology.
After leaving Netafim we were very fortunate to have coordinated an unscheduled stop with Bedouin tribe members. On the plane ride to Tel Aviv, Dr. Thomas had struck up a conversation with Yeela Raanam. It turned out that Yeela is an advocate for the Bedouin communities. She offered to meet with our class to discuss more in depth the political issues and struggles of the Bedouins. Sarmon and Hussein accompanied Leeya to meet with us and to communicate the difficulties they are having with the current Israeli policies of discrimination against the Bedouin communities.
The Israeli policies are aimed at the Bedouins integrating into their society. However, this is a community of Arab nomads who were there before Israel was created. Their cultural has a strong duty to extended family and community, and it is a culture that loves the earth and the open spaces. There is also severe racism against the Bedouins. The government has tried building Bedouin communities, but these have turned into slums because almost 100% of their income is animal agriculture based, which they can not practice in an urban environment. They also live in “Unrecognized Villages” without infrastructure, water, electricity, etc.
Our next stop was to the Youth Village Ben-Shemen. This youth village had 850 students and 400 are boarding students. The emphasis of this school was agriculture. The students of the school farmed 500 acres and each student was committed to 7.5 hours of work on the farm each week. The three main principles of the school are 1.) Provide a quality education, 2.) Love of earth and agriculture, and 3.) Ability to live socially among diverse peers. We had the privilege to eat lunch at the school and receive a brief presentation from Ilana Tischler. Ilana is the director general of the school.
While at the school we toured the high school facilities where we had the opportunity to interact with the students. We witnessed a small team of students that preparing to participate in a NASA competition in robotics. What these students had already accomplished was amazing.
We then toured a small portion of the school’s farm. We were able to see the school’s dairy, stable, and poultry operation. It was incredible to see each of these operations being completely staffed and run by the students of the school.
As we finished our ride to our hotel in Tel Aviv we made a quick stop at Old Yafo. Old Yafo is best known for the Prophet Jonas. There was an ancient wall from the time of the Greeks, as well as ancient Egyptian ruins. We made a small hike to the top of a hill to witness a breathtaking view of the Tel Aviv coastline. We eventually arrived to our accommodations where as a class we reflected on the impactful experiences we were exposed to today. For the rest of the evening we ventured out into Tel Aviv for dinner and witness the local culture of this part of the Middle East.
- Melissa Duflock, Matt Jones, Dan Sutton
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