Today we left the area of TA for the first time since we landed in Israel. I had a kibbutz visit lined up an hour south of the city, 3 miles from Gaza. We made it a family outing.
We drove down to Be'eri and met Yuval, the kibbutz recycling coordinator. He showed us around the grounds and told us about all of the environmental and ecological projects the kibbutz was doing, as well as explaining how the finances and living arrangements worked. Their main source of income is from a printing factory on the kibbutz grounds. They also produce agricultural products in the surrounding fields. The kibbutz is in the desert region but is full of lush greenery and gardens that overlook fields of green and brown. It sits on 7,000 acres.
Yuval himself has lived on Be'eri since he was 15. He is 60 now. Be'eri is unique because it still retains the "old" socialist model. Everyone has a job on the kibbutz and for this residents are allowed to live, eat and use kibbutz amenities. If you choose to work outside of the kibbutz your paycheck goes to the central committee and you live on the campus like any other resident. We were quite taken with this model. There were children running around laughing and people on bikes at every corner. Yuval's daughter had a baby yesterday so everyone we ran into during the tour kept stopping us and saying, "Yuval! Mazel Tov!" and kissing him on the cheek. It was a friendly, family-oriented community that seemed safe and quiet. Although there are 1050 residents it felt like everyone knew each other. (SLL: The new baby is Yuval's first grandchild!- he has 3 daughters and a son; all of his daughters live on the kibbutz)
In fact, we were mesmerized by the peacefulness of the kibbutz environment juxtaposed with the closeness to Gaza and terror. Yuval told us about what it was like in the summer during the rocket-fire from Gaza and how they had 15 seconds to run to safety when they heard the sirens go off. He said the woman's voice on the sirens was like something "from a nightmare." We could only imagine. Apparently a thousand soldiers fighting in Gaza over the summer would come to rest at Be'eri. Thankfully the kibbutz is much more peaceful now. Yuval is happy about this, as his son is a parachute trooper in the army.
Mom and I really loved the animals on the kibbutz. They had donkeys which they used for agricultural purposes, to keep the ecology flowing, and a whole zoo for the children! The zoo had deer, rabbits, snakes, birds of all kinds, emus, monkeys, raccoons and a whole host of other animals. It was so fun wandering through the quiet, lush gardens and seeing these exotic animals! I've never been anywhere like it.
SLL: the gardens and landscape in side the kibbutz are so beautiful; everything is in blossom now- it is cool and winter. To us, it feels like Florida. And, Yuval explained that all the kibbutzim had zoos to teach children about animals; children had jobs to care for and feed the animals and learned about agriculture from a young age. Today, few zoos still exist and the children don't have the jobs like his children did, but, come children still come to study them.
SLL: He explained that in about a month there will be a festival called the "Red Festival" Calaniot- or red anemones that grown only in the northern Negev desert will cover the landscape; I read:
Red anemones, part of the buttercup family, are famous in Greek mythology. They represent the blood of Adonis, a young hunter and lover of both Persephone (goddess of the underworld) and Aphrodite (goddess of love). According to myth, he was killed by a wild boar while hunting and red anemones grew where his blood spilled. Red anemones also appear in many paintings of the crucifixion and are considered by Christians to represent the blood of Jesus. Anemone is a Greek word meaning “wind flower,” as it often looks as if the flowers are blown open by the wind.
Yuval said that people will come from all over Israel and the roads will be packed with people touring to see the calaniot during the month of February.
SLL: Yuval is responsible for all the recycling on the kibbutz, a project he undertook 7 years ago because he "wanted to do something good for the galaxy- and for the future". And, since this is the subject of Maura's project this is the focus of our tour. The kibbutz recycles at least 20 different items - and reuses lots of stuff, too. The electricity is from solar power. Many recycling stations are located throughout the kibbutz. And, he has his "kingdom" for recycling.
At first, I couldn't understand what he meant, I chalked it up to translation issues. But, then I could see that he said it "literally".
Ha Mamlecha: "The Kingdom". This is command central for the entire recycling effort. And what a funny area. There are "galleries" of "art" that is hung to enjoy- Yuval says the exhibits are always changing. There is a children's area. On the weekends, when families come to work at the recycling area, the children play with many of the items brought to the area.
The current "exhibit":
These photos show parts of the children's play area.
Across the road is the garage for the care of the 100 vehicles owned by the kibbutz. Anyone of the 1,000 members who need a car can use one; they sign up on line. The cars are maintained and washed. Some of the members started a cactus garden that now stretches for several blocks in various containers.
One of his goals is to be able to recycle styrofoam; in Hebrew it is called KalKar. He has been attempting to recycle the material for a long time. I can relate! I have been looking for ways to recycle styrofoam for years. He has been communicating with the one factory that makes it and they are agreeing to take it. That is giving me ideas! These are the bags of Kalkar that he has collected. there are more than 60!
From the "Kingdom" he took us to see a neighborhood. The neighborhoods are so peaceful, tree-lined. He showed us the new kindergarten which is built like a bunker to keep the children safe. The old kindergarten has a new roof built over the top to withstand bombs. The houses are simple. We asked him about small 1 room looking spaces and he explained that young people move into these one room apartments so that they don't have to live in their parents' home, but, also don't have to maintain a full apartment. How sensible. The house below is a 2 plex.
Yuval explained that the recycling areas were kept so clean by an elderly woman that she put rugs down. He said the units smelled like cleanser. Since she is now gone, most of the rugs have been picked up; only a couple remain to remember her by.
Every station had beautiful flowers growing all around. The grounds were beautiful. What a wonderful and special place. I am so grateful for Maura's project so that we could go with her. On Sunday we leave for the North of Israel. but, first, we have a couple more days in the city.
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