For those interested in Permaculture in Israel and the Middle-East, Kibbutz Lotan in the arid Arava desert, of southern Israel, offers three incredible programs.
Green Apprenticeship:
In our work/study sustainable design & management program, participants gain both practical skills and theoretical knowledge in alternative building, organic gardening, and community planning. Participants learn how to understand and create alternative solutions for the issues facing the modern world.
Our core program incorporates the following subjects, taught through both theoretical and practical instruction:
Theoretical Instruction:
-Sustainable agriculture & local food production
-Permaculture & Ecological design techniques
-Green building
-Sustainable technologies – composting toilets, grey and black water purification systems, solar ovens, geodesic domes, renewable energy
-Group dynamics and processes
-Environmental ethics & lifestyle
Practical Work:
-Organic gardening – growing vegetables from scratch
-Natural and alternative building with mud, straw bales, tires, and trash
-Composting – with food scraps and with the help of worms (vermiculture)
-Permaculture design projects – ecological design from the garden and home to the workplace
-Care of EcoCampus neighborhood – maintenance and development
-Countless opportunities for individual or group eco-projects
For More Information:
What is the Green Apprenticeship?
To Apply:
Green Apprenticeship Application
Sustainable Israel:
Sustainable Israel develops professional skills through an intensive theoretical and applied fellowship in sustainable development. This unique fellowship builds innovative capacities that participants will take with them as a “tool kit” for sustainable development. Participants study permaculture design and sustainable development, ecological agriculture and architecture, Ecovillage design, natural building, renewable energies including solar and biogas, rainwater collection, community building, group dynamics and much more.
Agro Ecology:
Botanical Plant Families
Companion Planting
Sheet Mulch & Square Foot Gardening
Composting: Theory & Practice
Seed Saving: Theory & Practice
Transplanting & Sowing Seeds
Weekly Gardening and Harvesting
Permaculture & Ecological Design:
Structural Engineering for Hand Built Houses
Passive Solar Design
Ethics and Principles
Design Techniques including: Zone and Sector, Input and Output Analysis, and POBREDIM Engineering Methodology
Needs-based Design Projects
Nature and Green Building:
Classic Mud Mixing and Bricks
How to Test Soil for Building
Straw Bale Construction
Grey Water Systems
Renewable Energy Systems
Building Projects with Guided Instruction
Ecovillage Design Education:
Concept of Kibbutz
Holistic Worldview
Global Economy and the Dilemma of Growth
Shifting to a Sustainable Economy
Eco Judaism, Zionism and the State of Israel:
Hebrew studies
Time line of the Jewish, Zionist, Israeli History – Are they all the same?
Topics in Eco Judaism
Jewish Peoplehood
For More Information:
Sustainable Israel
To Apply:
Sustainable Israel Application
Eco-Experience:
For those with less time on their hands, we offer a 1 week minimum, hands-on opportunity for folk interested in the design, building and running of sustainable communities that link together ecological, social, economical and spiritual aspects into a unified whole.
For More Information:
Eco-Experience
To Apply:
Eco-Experience Application
If you have any questions, I'd be happy to answer!
Love to all the Permies around the world.
