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Video Interview by Sahar Ghaheri ( Part II )

Joshua Arnow — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 11:06:46 -0800

Brief reflections on Project Wadi Attir, a project with the Bedouin of the Negev, and formative influences that shaped the direction of the work Michael is currently pursuing.

Video Interview by Sahar Ghaheri ( Part I )

Joshua Arnow — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 10:24:43 -0800

Michael Ben-Eli kicked off the Buckminster Fuller Challenge fellowship program with a presentation about Bucky, Design Science, and sustainability at the Pratt Center for Sustainable Design Studies. After the presentation, in an interview w read more »

Articles and Papers by Michael Ben-Eli

Joshua Arnow — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 12:04:28 -0800

The Cybernetics of Crisis and the Challnege of Sustainability

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Articles & Papers

Joshua Arnow — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 12:40:24 -0800

August 2009 Update

Joshua Arnow — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 14:51:28 -0700

This is the third in a series of project updates that are produced periodically in order to keep our partners, funders, supporters and friends informed about developments in this exciting initiative involving a Bedouin community in the Negev desert in Israel.
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Leading the Way to Sustainability

Joshua Arnow — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 13:15:07 -0700

Note: This interview begins with music by Cal Tjader. read more »

Interns

Joshua Arnow — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 21:08:15 -0700

Ben Bokser, a New York City native, is the Sustainability Laboratory's first summer intern. He is a 2009 graduate of Yale University with a degree in Ethics, Politics, and Economics. Much of his college work related to the issues of poverty reduction and the environmental from the wide degree of angles provided by his interdisciplinary major, capped off by a thesis researching ethical restaurant certification in Israel. read more »

Following the fall 2008 semester spent volunteering and studying in Nepal, Ben has also developed an interest in sustainable agriculture, the focus of the Sustainability Laboratory's Project Wadi Attir. Ben will be developing this interest in a hands-on way in fall 2009 in an apprenticeship program in an ecological farm in Israel.

Project Summary

Joshua Arnow — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 19:45:50 -0700

Purpose
Project Wadi Attir, an initiative of a Bedouin community in the Negev, seeks to develop and demonstrate a model for sustainable, community-based organic farming enterprise, adapted to a desert environment. It is designed to combine Bedouin aspirations, values and experience, with sustainability principles and cutting edge approaches to renewable energy production, resource recycling and arid land stewardship. The project was initiated in order to showcase a breakthrough approach to environmentally sound sustainable development which could impact the Middle East region as well as other parts of the world.

Who is involved
The project is a joint initiative of the Hura Municipal Council, the governing body of Hura, one of seven Bedouin towns in the Negev, and the Sustainability Laboratory, a US-based non-profit whose purpose is to spearhead the development of breakthrough sustainability practices. Since its inception in early 2008, the project has attracted a significant group of partners, representing key sectors of Israeli society, making it a unique, exciting and diverse undertaking. Participating partners include the Blaustein Institute for Desert Research of the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU); the Jewish National Fund (JNF); and the Negev Institute for Peace and Development Strategies, (NISPED). Other supporting organizations include Kibbutz Kramim; AMAL Educational Network; ZenithSolar and NETAFIM, the world leader in micro irrigation systems. About 40 people, mostly Bedouin, from a diversity of backgrounds, are currently working on various aspects of the project.

Unique Aspects
Project Wadi Attir is unique on a number of fronts. First, it has brought together a new generation of visionary, entrepreneurial Bedouins from different communities who have emerged as strong local leaders. Second, these leaders include Bedouin women that have been involved in the project from the outset, some of whom have joined as founding members of the cooperative. Third, significant time and effort were invested in establishing and maintaining an inclusive community-based approach to conceiving and designing the project, involving in the process a diverse group of individuals and resources from within and outside the community. Fourth, the project represents a creative, whole system approach to process design and project development which addresses multiple goals, conditions, requirements, and issues comprehensively and simultaneously. Finally, the entire process is guided by a set of sustainability principles developed by the Sustainability Laboratory. These are reflected in a formal declaration of principles developed by the participants in the project.

The combination of these important dimensions has enabled project Wadi Attir to catalyze an unprecedented level of collaboration, cooperation, and commitment. As a result, the project has been moving ahead faster than thought possible.

Site and Functions
The Project site is located on 150 acres of land near the Town of Hura about 10 miles northeast of Beer Sheva. The core of the enterprise will involve raising several hundred goats and sheep, and the production of organic meat and dairy products. In addition, a significant portion of the farm will be dedicated to the cultivation of a wide variety of medicinal plants that have been valued by generations of Bedouins for their health benefits. The medicinal plant operation will showcase and preserve Bedouin knowledge of natural remedies and will produce a line of healing and body care products.
Project Wadi Attir is also re-introducing the production of highly nutritious, desert hardy, indigenous vegetables which once formed an important part of the Bedouin diet. In addition to growing such native vegetables on the site, a seed bank will be created and a women-led program will be launched to help spread the cultivation of vegetable gardens on family managed plots.

Integrated Systems and Implementation of Sustainability Principles
Project Wadi Attir is designed to realize essential sustainability principles in its approach to natural, human, social, manufactured and financial resources. This means that the project is committed to producing positive economic results, enriching the life and well being of the community, ensuring the highest resource productivity, enhancing local biodiversity, and preventing adverse impacts on the environment.

To minimize its ecological footprint and to ensure the most efficient use of resources, a basic concept of Project Wadi Attir is that byproducts of one activity will be available as resources for another activity through an integrated, closed loop system of use, reuse, and recycling. The project will aim for carbon neutrality by minimizing harmful emissions and through a program of extensive planting which will also be designed to increase the nitrogen content of the soil.

All of the structures in Project Wadi Attir will incorporate the principles and technologies appropriate to arid zone green building design. These include energy conservation and material conservation, passive cooling and heating, natural lighting, and highly efficient electrical systems.

State-of-the-art methods of agro-forestry and soil enrichment will be employed to provide high yield pastures and enhance biodiversity. The herd will feed on locally grown organic fodder and humane treatment will be central to the livestock operation. Animal manure will be part of a composting program that will produce fertilizer for grazing, plant and tree growing areas and sheep’s wool will be processed for use in woven craft items. Recycled waste water will be the primary source of water to the site. It will be supplied through a new water treatment facility in the vicinity. Electrical power will be produced by concentrated photovoltaic solar collectors. Bio-gas will be produced onsite by decomposing manure and food waste in digesters and capturing methane for use as fuel. Advanced drip irrigation systems will be employed throughout the farm. Waste water generated onsite will be purified for reuse utilizing constructed wetlands. Electricity generated by solar energy will also be a source of revenue. All of the electricity produced on the site will be fed into the national energy grid and will be purchased by the state utility company at a premium rate. This revenue will offset a large amount of the project’s ongoing energy costs.

Community
Project Wadi Attir has recently been established as the first ever Bedouin agricultural cooperative. The not-for-profit cooperative, which will own and operate Project Wadi Attir, is expected to initially employ approximately 30 people. Employment for women and local capacity building is a primary goal of the project. The site will also function as a research and learning center and as an ongoing source of empowerment and training for surrounding communities. A visitor’s center will include an exhibition area, a restaurant and gift shop to promote Bedouin hospitality, culture, local crafts, and the farm’s agricultural products. Project Wadi Attir will also host educational programs for students from throughout the region.

Expected Outcomes

Expected outcomes of project Wadi Attir:

A successful, transferable, and scalable, operating model for sustainable desert agricultural enterprise.

A thriving, economically sound, expanding cooperative.

A means of local job creation including significant occupation for women.

An active training center for empowerment and capacity building of neighboring Bedouin communities and sustainability education for students from throughout the region.

A lively visitor center and attractive tourist destination.

Status and Timeline
The project is in an advanced stage of the planning, design and early implementation phase. Business plans for each of the revenue centers are underway and are expected to be completed by year end 2009. The statutory process is proceeding intensively and the project plan has already been accepted for filing by the regional planning authority. Final approval is expected by year end 2009. Full implementation is expected to commence in 2010 and will continue in a series of planned stages over the next three to four years.

Measures of Success and Evaluation Process
The project team is currently working with a group of researchers at Ben-Gurion University to develop a long term, post-implementation, evaluation research proposal. This research effort will examine and monitor all key aspects of the project: the approach; the technologies; the community dimensions; the capacity building and educational programs; as well as environmental and economic performance. The evaluation process will be carried out over a number of years, in collaboration with the Regional Center for research and Development of the Bedouins.

PARTNERS

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Project Wadi Attir is a joint initiative of the Hura Municipal Council

and the Sustainability Laboratory

Participating partners include the Blaustein Institute for Desert Research of the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, (BGU); the Jewish National Fund (JNF); and the Negev Institute for Peace and Development Strategies, (NISPED). Other supporting organizations include the Arab-Jewish Center for Equality, Empowerment and Cooperation (AJEEC); Kibbutz Kramim; AMAL educational Network; and NETAFIM.

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New Solar Dish Could Make Cost of Solar Energy Competitive with Fossil Fuels.

Joshua Arnow — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 12:34:57 -0700

The ZenithSolar Concept
The concept of Concentrated Photovoltaic (CPV) systems is to use low cost optics to increase the light incident onto the very high efficiency semiconductor solar cell material, thus reducing overall cost of the system while increasing energy output.

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Interview with Michael Ben-Eli

admin — Sun, 10 May 2009 11:15:14 -0700

Interview with Michael Ben Eli

by Thomas Davidsen Producer - via "One Open Space"

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Upcoming Engagements

admin — Sun, 10 May 2009 10:50:34 -0700

February 18, Goizuepa Business School, Emory Unioversity. Atlanta, Georgia.

March 11, World Economic Forum, Global Leadership Fellows, at the Konrad Adenauer Confernce Center, The Jersalem Foundation. Jerusalem, Israel.

Summer 2010, Earth University.Guacimo Limon, Costa Rica. ( Dates to be confirmed)

July 18- 23, Annual Meeting of the International Society for the Systems Sciences. Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, ON, Canada read more »

Planet 2025 Network

Joshua Arnow — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 14:41:24 -0700

Draft Home Page with Quote

Joshua Arnow — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 12:46:28 -0700

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"To make the world work for 100% of humanity in the shortest possible time
through spontaneous cooperation without ecological damage or
the disadvantage to anyone."

R. Buckminster Fuller

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Presented at the Malik Mangement Center, St.Gallen Switzerland -- March 20, 2009

Joshua Arnow — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 16:45:37 -0700

Click here to listen to the audio file of the presentation (39.6 Minutes) read more »

Resurgence -- Defining Sustainability

Joshua Arnow — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 17:46:01 -0700

The Permaculture Project -- Design Science Framework

Joshua Arnow — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 17:02:28 -0700

Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research at Ben Gurion University

Joshua Arnow — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 16:56:29 -0700

Video 7

admin — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 13:34:21 -0700