Lotan (kibbutz)
Encyclopedia
Lotan is a Reform
kibbutz
in the Arabah
Valley in the Negev
desert in southern Israel
. It was founded in 1983 as Yahel Bet by twenty Israeli and twenty American youths. The current name derives from "one of the sons of Seir". (Genesis 36:20) (a descendant of Esau, who lived in Edom nearby)
The kibbutz currently serves as location for eco-tourism and birdwatching
for tourists. The kibbutz is also a member of the Global EcoVillage network, and offers seminars and workshops on earth building, watsu, and creative ecology. Its members strive to balance an ecological approach to living in Israel through recycling
, permaculture
, and other projects.
and Permaculture
Design course is an intensive 6 week work /study experience run by the Center for Creative Ecology at Kibbutz Lotan in southern Israel
. The program offers a highly practically-based immersion into the processes and challenges involved with the design, building and running of sustainable communities, linking together ecological, social, economical and spiritual aspects into a unified whole. Practical skills are developed through hands-on work in our environmental education center, organic gardens, alternative/natural building projects and the Lotan migratory bird reserve
, complemented by theoretical sessions in topics such as ecological design
, permaculture and sustainability.
Students on the course live in the GA eco-campus—a prototype model for sustainable living that is a learning experience in itself. Living quarters are super-insulated straw-bale and mud geodesic
domes, built on-site by previous course participants. Passive cooling systems are employed to combat the desert heat. Electricity is almost entirely from alternative energy sources. Composting toilets and grey-water systems help conserve water. The daily challenges of living together as a micro-community in this low-impact environment form an integral part of the educational experience of the course.
Participants on the course are also interwoven into the daily life of our kibbutz, an intentional cooperative community based on the principles of liberal, egalitarian Judaism. The experience and world view of Lotan is utilized as a case study for focusing on group process and community building. The ideas and ideals behind our way of life and projects are discussed, including talks about kibbutz economics and social structure. Students are encouraged to take part in cultural/religious events on the kibbutz and in the region that occur throughout the program. The Green Apprenticeship also integrates tours to local points of interest, neighboring kibbutzim and other ecological projects, and hikes in the region around Lotan.
Every practical experience on the course is reinforced by formal studies, a holistic link to permaculture ideas, and an opportunity for participants to share their ideas and past experiences to influence our projects. The activities are designed with the belief that an individual can bring these ideas to their own homes and communities, empowering them towards making positive change.
The Green Apprenticeship course is an authorized provider of the Ecovillage Design Education curriculum developed by Gaia
Education. The Ecovillage Design Education curriculum is an official contribution to the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development
2005–2014 and has the endorsement of UNITAR - United Nations Institute for Training and Research
. Gaia Education is a program of GEN - the Global Ecovillage Network
.
On successful completion of the course work, participants will receive a Permaculture
Design Course Certificate according to the International Permaculture standards, which will be taught as part of the Green Apprenticeship program.
Reform Judaism
Reform Judaism refers to various beliefs, practices and organizations associated with the Reform Jewish movement in North America, the United Kingdom and elsewhere. In general, it maintains that Judaism and Jewish traditions should be modernized and should be compatible with participation in the...
kibbutz
Kibbutz
A kibbutz is a collective community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. Today, farming has been partly supplanted by other economic branches, including industrial plants and high-tech enterprises. Kibbutzim began as utopian communities, a combination of socialism and Zionism...
in the Arabah
Arabah
The Arabah , also known as Aravah, is a section of the Great Rift Valley running in a north-south orientation between the southern end of the Sea of Galilee down to the Dead Sea and continuing further south where it ends at the Gulf of Aqaba. It includes most of the border between Israel to the...
Valley in the Negev
Negev
The Negev is a desert and semidesert region of southern Israel. The Arabs, including the native Bedouin population of the region, refer to the desert as al-Naqab. The origin of the word Neghebh is from the Hebrew root denoting 'dry'...
desert in southern Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
. It was founded in 1983 as Yahel Bet by twenty Israeli and twenty American youths. The current name derives from "one of the sons of Seir". (Genesis 36:20) (a descendant of Esau, who lived in Edom nearby)
The kibbutz currently serves as location for eco-tourism and birdwatching
Birdwatching
Birdwatching or birding is the observation of birds as a recreational activity. It can be done with the naked eye, through a visual enhancement device like binoculars and telescopes, or by listening for bird sounds. Birding often involves a significant auditory component, as many bird species are...
for tourists. The kibbutz is also a member of the Global EcoVillage network, and offers seminars and workshops on earth building, watsu, and creative ecology. Its members strive to balance an ecological approach to living in Israel through recycling
Recycling
Recycling is processing used materials into new products to prevent waste of potentially useful materials, reduce the consumption of fresh raw materials, reduce energy usage, reduce air pollution and water pollution by reducing the need for "conventional" waste disposal, and lower greenhouse...
, permaculture
Permaculture
Permaculture is an approach to designing human settlements and agricultural systems that is modeled on the relationships found in nature. It is based on the ecology of how things interrelate rather than on the strictly biological concerns that form the foundation of modern agriculture...
, and other projects.
Green Apprenticeship program
The Green Apprenticeship EcovillageEcovillage
Ecovillages are intentional communities with the goal of becoming more socially, economically and ecologically sustainable. Some aim for a population of 50–150 individuals. Larger ecovillages of up to 2,000 individuals exist as networks of smaller subcommunities to create an ecovillage model that...
and Permaculture
Permaculture
Permaculture is an approach to designing human settlements and agricultural systems that is modeled on the relationships found in nature. It is based on the ecology of how things interrelate rather than on the strictly biological concerns that form the foundation of modern agriculture...
Design course is an intensive 6 week work /study experience run by the Center for Creative Ecology at Kibbutz Lotan in southern Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
. The program offers a highly practically-based immersion into the processes and challenges involved with the design, building and running of sustainable communities, linking together ecological, social, economical and spiritual aspects into a unified whole. Practical skills are developed through hands-on work in our environmental education center, organic gardens, alternative/natural building projects and the Lotan migratory bird reserve
Bird Reserve
A bird reserve is a wildlife refuge designed to protect bird species. Like other wildlife refuges, the main goal of a reserve is to prevent species from becoming endangered or extinct. Typically, bird species in a reserve are protected from hunting and habitat destruction...
, complemented by theoretical sessions in topics such as ecological design
Ecological design
Ecological design was defined by Sim Van der Ryn and Stuart Cowan as "any form of design that minimizes environmentally destructive impacts by integrating itself with living processes." Ecological design is an integrative, ecologically responsible design discipline...
, permaculture and sustainability.
Students on the course live in the GA eco-campus—a prototype model for sustainable living that is a learning experience in itself. Living quarters are super-insulated straw-bale and mud geodesic
Geodesic
In mathematics, a geodesic is a generalization of the notion of a "straight line" to "curved spaces". In the presence of a Riemannian metric, geodesics are defined to be the shortest path between points in the space...
domes, built on-site by previous course participants. Passive cooling systems are employed to combat the desert heat. Electricity is almost entirely from alternative energy sources. Composting toilets and grey-water systems help conserve water. The daily challenges of living together as a micro-community in this low-impact environment form an integral part of the educational experience of the course.
Participants on the course are also interwoven into the daily life of our kibbutz, an intentional cooperative community based on the principles of liberal, egalitarian Judaism. The experience and world view of Lotan is utilized as a case study for focusing on group process and community building. The ideas and ideals behind our way of life and projects are discussed, including talks about kibbutz economics and social structure. Students are encouraged to take part in cultural/religious events on the kibbutz and in the region that occur throughout the program. The Green Apprenticeship also integrates tours to local points of interest, neighboring kibbutzim and other ecological projects, and hikes in the region around Lotan.
Every practical experience on the course is reinforced by formal studies, a holistic link to permaculture ideas, and an opportunity for participants to share their ideas and past experiences to influence our projects. The activities are designed with the belief that an individual can bring these ideas to their own homes and communities, empowering them towards making positive change.
The Green Apprenticeship course is an authorized provider of the Ecovillage Design Education curriculum developed by Gaia
Gaia philosophy
Gaia philosophy is a broadly inclusive term for related concepts that living organisms on a planet will affect the nature of their environment in order to make the environment more suitable for life. This set of theories holds that all organisms on an extraterrestrial life-giving planet regulate...
Education. The Ecovillage Design Education curriculum is an official contribution to the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development
United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development
- About the Decade :Based on the proposals by Japan and Sweden, the United Nations General Assembly, at its 57th Session in December 2002, adopted to start the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development , following the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation which emphasised that education is an...
2005–2014 and has the endorsement of UNITAR - United Nations Institute for Training and Research
United Nations Institute for Training and Research
The United Nations Institute for Training and Research was established in 1965 following a "for the training of personnel, particularly from developing Member States, for administrative and operational assignments with the United Nations and the specialized agencies, both at Headquarters and in...
. Gaia Education is a program of GEN - the Global Ecovillage Network
Global Ecovillage Network
The Global Ecovillage Network is a global association of people and communities dedicated to living "sustainable plus" lives by restoring the land and adding more to the environment than is taken...
.
On successful completion of the course work, participants will receive a Permaculture
Permaculture
Permaculture is an approach to designing human settlements and agricultural systems that is modeled on the relationships found in nature. It is based on the ecology of how things interrelate rather than on the strictly biological concerns that form the foundation of modern agriculture...
Design Course Certificate according to the International Permaculture standards, which will be taught as part of the Green Apprenticeship program.