It is important to understand the different avenues through which Earth’s Promise approaches urban agriculture, because these too have an impact on the benefits and difficulties of our project. Earth’s Promise facilitates gardens located at various absorption centers, which are located in urban neighborhoods. Here, in plots maintained by individuals, a variety of produce is flourishing. The produce grown in these plots supplements what families may buy in the supermarket, and provide familiar produce from their home countries. The new immigrants take pride in their individual plots, especially when so much of life in an absorption center is about being dependent upon other people. We have seen how these centers of cultivation encourage a spirit of cooperation among community members. These projects also have the potential to precipitate communal cohesiveness and local economic sustainability by giving the community unique assets and products to sell. This encompasses one of the missions of Earth’s Promise, to empower communities. The end goal is for the community to establish a system in which agricultural spaces can be maintained and improved while in the hands of community members with external support mechanisms fading into the background as primarily benefactors and secondary rather than primary caretakers. This central goal gives rise to the interest of Earth’s Promise in promoting a relationship toward urban agricultural projects in which the community is enticed and has a vested interest in caring for and up-keeping these green spaces.

Over the course of our time as volunteers, we have seen and taken part in a variety of urban agricultural projects, and witnessed how they vary in the degree to which they achieve the vision of facilitating a thriving community agricultural epicenter. In order to illustrate some of the challenges to making this dream a reality, it is necessary to distinguish between a couple different agricultural spaces. Some community gardens are divided into individual plots in which the owner is responsible for cultivation and up-keep. Within these gardens, there are communal spaces not assigned to individuals. Ostensibly, the onus is on helpful individual plot holders and other overseers to keep these spaces tidy. As volunteers, we have seen how despite these tacit obligations for maintaining communal spaces, they invariably become neglected and overgrown. These untidy spaces often encroach upon individual plots. Consequently, these neglected communal spaces are more than just a nuisance – they frustrate individual gardeners and obstruct the productivity of the garden as a whole.

We have helped to clean up these areas, but our efforts often leave us disconcerted. Though Earth’s Promise is committed to funding and maintaining these communal gardens, our manual labor produces only transient relief for the individual gardeners and the community at large, temporarily solving the maintenance dilemma facing these areas without producing any structural or dynamic changes. In-between volunteer visits, these spaces become overgrown and unkempt. Without contributions from individual plot holders and other community members, the gardens collectively cannot consistently be producing at their highest capacity – nurturing and nourishing both camaraderie and plant-life.

The enigma of maintenance is even more pronounced in communal gardens. At the beginning, these projects do a wonderful job of bringing the community together. However, individuals have very little to no interest in taking care of the public space between the initial planting time and harvesting period. Even if some altruistic community members wish to work on the garden, the daunting task of cleaning up a wildly overgrown space which is not consistently up-kept, might discourage them from doing any gardening.

Self-sufficiency is on the horizon. Earth’s Promise is working on establishing an urban farm, which contrasts from the community garden model in that it is designed to be productive without external support mechanisms. The urban farm is set to be underway this October near the Kalisher absorption center. Local businesses and agricultural support projects provide the demand for produce, and buttress and perpetuate gardening procedures. Urban farms remedy issues of food security, which are pervasive in urban areas, by preventing “food deserts” in areas in which affordable and nutritious food is not usually plentiful. Based on precedent, the implementation of the urban farm concept is likely to be successful in Beer Sheva. These farms have thrived in environmentally conscious American metropolises like Seattle. In addition to filling up neglected spaces, urban agricultural projects are most successful in places most hard hit by urban decay, serving as a viable avenue for ameliorating the problem. Urban farms still facilitate all the social benefits associated with community gardens; in this place of mutual value, people are encouraged to cooperate and act cordially with their neighbors. This project works to adjust perceptions toward urban agriculture, inspiring people to contribute and cooperate, while promoting the betterment of the entire community.

Working for Earth’s Promise has been eye opening for us all. Shvuat haadama envisages Ben Gurion’s dream of making the desert bloom. Its mission epitomizes the mantra of making something from nothing, literally converting garbage dumps into miniature versions of the Garden of Eden. These little paradises serve as paradigms for the future, and provide constant hope for a bright future. The work done by Earth’s Promise encapsulates how proper motivation and careful planning is critically important in propagating positive change in a community. At a minimum, we will leave Israel with a profound sense of gratitude for the great efforts being put forth to improve the lives of needy communities and areas in Israel, and will hopefully be motivated to redouble our own effort to make a positive difference.

]]> https://beta.jewcology.com/2013/08/urban-agriculture-the-promise-of-plenty-and-the-menace-of-maintenance-by-doniel-kaye/feed/ 0 https://beta.jewcology.com/2013/04/ecothiopia-festival-in-beer-sheva/ https://beta.jewcology.com/2013/04/ecothiopia-festival-in-beer-sheva/#comments Tue, 30 Apr 2013 15:54:00 +0000 http://jewcology.org/2013/04/ecothiopia-festival-in-beer-sheva/ Moran and I have returned from our wedding and honeymoon to Sri Lanka and getting back into the swing of things. The most exciting project on the horizon in the near future is Ecothiopia Festival, taking place in the Kalisher garden and newly planted Bustan. Ecothiopia is a festival that celebrates Ecology and Ethiopian culture. This is the fourth year that the festival has taken place. In years past, there were music and dance performances, not to mention a DJ playing Ethiopian music. In addition, there are artist booths, ecology and environmental booths and different kinds of workshops. This year, we have invited Zvuloon Dubsystem, an Ethiopian reggae band that is starting to become more known around Israel. Here is a link to their YouTube page: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICUMx5c7XrM&playnext=1&list=PLD00D413D6174C17E&feature=results_main

We are also preparing an exhibit on Urban Agriculture to be featured at the festival. There will be examples of Urban Agriculture all around the world. Festival goers will be able to take a world tour and see all of the innovative and interesting urban agriculture projects that are taking place throughout the world. We will also have a few examples of Urban Agriculture examples that we are building leading up to the Festival. These will include using pallets to create vertical farming systems and grocery shopping carts and burlap sacks. The point is to use everyday objects that you would not ordinarily see in a gardening context and are usually thrown away as waste after one or two uses.

This is the first year that the Beer Sheva municipality is getting involved in the efforts to produce Ecothiopia. Along with Jewish National Fund-USA and the Jewish Agency, the partnerships to make this festival special are growing. This is an opportunity to show off ecological and urban agriculture concepts to the general public. It is also an opportunity to show off the importance of Ethiopian culture within Israeli society. The food, the music, the clothes are all aspects of the Ethiopian culture that many are not familiar with and many expect the Ethiopians to quickly adapt to Israeli culture. Being an immigrant myself, I know this feeling of others expecting you to shrug off what was part of you for such a long portion of your life and to be expected to adapt to the current state of Israeliness. This process is complex and takes time. We want to give the Beer Sheva public an opportunity to see and understand the Ethiopian culture and to come close to see it, hear it, and taste it.

Ecothiopia Festival will take place on May 29^th in Beer Sheva at the Kalisher Garden. The address is Kalisher 13 in the Gimel neighborhood. All are welcome and you can even bring a friend. Get ready for an evening of music, food, and fun for the whole family! If you are in Israel or know someone who is, let them know about this unique opportunity to experience Ethiopia in Beer Sheva.

Oh and by the way, Earth’s Promise is in a contest to win 1000 pounds. Please VOTE for Earth’s Promise in this contest. Here’s the link:

http://www.uknif-voteforchange.org/2012/01/10/vote-for-earths-promise/

This Tu B’Shvat, volunteers and community members of Beer Sheva worked in the field for a week of work creating an Urban Orchard. This Urban Orchard is the start to the Urban Farm. The volunteers worked hard all week digging swales and trenches in line with the natural contours of the land. The purpose to dig the system of trenches and swales is to provide a water catchment system on the land. Many times in the Beer Sheva semi-arid environment, there is a downpour of rain. Much of the rain is lost to the sewer systems because of run off. The soil type “Loess” is high in clay content; therefore, the water has a difficult time absorbing into the underground aquifers. The system of trenches and swales is meant to catch the water and encourage drainage into underground aquifers. The increase of this water can increase the overall abundance of a particular piece of land.

At the lowest point of the land we created a Leman. This is a landscape feature that takes advantage of the flood of water at the lowest point during a heavy rainfall in a landscape with relatively high run off rate. The water collects at the lowest point of the land for a period of time and slowly seeps into the aquifer below.

The Nabateans who were expert water engineers in the Negev, masters of the Spice Road, and expert desert farmers applied both of these practices. We at Earth’s Promise learned from these practices and applied them to our Urban Orchard. In addition to the soil that barely allows water to seep into the underground aquifers, our city environment with asphalt and hard surfaces is another important reason why the Urban Farm and Urban Orchard must be planned in a manner that utilizes the most amount of water that falls naturally.

Although signs of spring are starting to appear, we are still enjoying the winter rains and last week was no exception. Throughout the week, there were downpours that proved that these methods are effective at achieving their goals. The proof came with those rains, as the land we had previously worked and dug absorbed the water very well as opposed to the areas that we hadn’t dug yet showed that water was collecting on the surface and made small pools all over the landscape. As though a blessing from above, on the last day of the week when the work was finished and just before the Shabbat, a massive rain downpour started and didn’t stop until the next morning.

On Sunday morning, when I went to check the Urban Orchard, it was apparent that our hard work paid off. There were no small pools as there had been earlier in the week, and all of the water was gathering at the lowest point of the land, slowly seeping into the underground aquifer.

I think the most meaningful part of the week was the last day, when a local neighbor “Abraham” showed up to plant the first tree of the Urban Orchard. He was a man of about seventy years and he helped all of us young folks. His work was even the most beautiful of all of ours. It was fitting that “Abraham” planted the first tree in the Urban Orchard in Beer Sheva, like our forefather Abraham who also planted a tree in Beer Sheva when he settled here.

When starting a door-to-door campaign, many of the activists are weary about the results. People think that the businesses will not be receptive to them or the idea, that they will reject listening or simply not have enough time from their busy schedule. The reality of the situation is dramatically different. When we went from business to business to understand the extent and depth of their willingness to participate in this social and economic experiment their reaction was incredibly encouraging. Almost every business owner said that they would be willing to give discounts to card-holding volunteers and activists. The basis of a local sustainable economy could be built with the confidence of the community and the investment of businesses.

One falafel storeowner pledged to buy all of his monthly demand of vegetables from the farm. I asked him if he could pledge anything in addition to a discount. He told me that he wanted to teach how to make food. He served most of his adult career in the IDF and after opened “Falafel with a Wide Heart”. Not only does he serve the local falafel and shawarma flare, but also has home cooked food every day. His confidence in the community in which he works is proof that local sustainable economy is a grassroots venture.

Another specialty Russian grocery store said that she doesn’t buy too many vegetables but she said she would be willing to give discounts to local volunteers. When we asked what else she could offer, she mentioned that she could give Russian language lessons.

What we mainly learned from the canvass was that local businesses are active members of their community and willing to improve the neighborhood in order to improve their businesses.

Our next step is to canvass the community, inform them of the possibilities and explain the process, and find particularly interested activists. During the last week of January we will be breaking ground on the farm in a Tu B’Shvat celebration.

All around the world Urban Farms are emerging as a partial solution to urban food deserts, abandoned city lots, and cutting out the middle man in bringing food to our tables. Each one of these farms is unique to its particular environment. Differing climates, community needs and zoning and planning laws can affect the nature of each urban farm. One of the most impressive urban farms among many is in Milwaukee, Wisconsin called “Growing Power” (www.growingpower.org). Will Allen, an urban agriculturalist, established this urban farm. The produce from the urban farm provides nutritious fresh fruits and vegetables directly to residents in urban Milwaukee and even provides produce to farmer’s markets in Chicago. This successful model is an inspiration to many operations that are budding all around the world.

Here in Beersheba, Moran and I are working through Earth’s Promise to establish the first urban farm of its kind in Israel. In contrast to community gardens or kitchen gardens, urban farms contain an essential economic element. These farms must support themselves and provide accessible and nutritious produce to the local community. Here in Beersheba, the urban farm will be an anchor for a local sustainable economy based on community power. For instance, neighbors can volunteer hours working at the farm and receive in turn discounts at local businesses that also buy their produce from the urban farm. If a community member wants to offer a skill or service such as math tutoring, fixing up the house, or a karate class they can offer their service or skill in exchange for the produce of the urban farm. In the later stages of this process, an alternate currency will be the basis of the local sustainable economy with the Urban Farm as its economic base.

Space and design is also an important element in urban farming. According to the situation of where the farm is located and the plan of the city, different methods of agriculture are appropriate for different places. In Chicago, mini farms are planted on rooftops and public spaces. In Egypt, urban farms are built on levels allowing multiple layers of production area to be placed in a limited space. In Beersheba, neglected urban spaces are the perfect places to develop urban farms, greening the city while providing food for its residents.

Urban Farming may never replace the institution of industrial agriculture, but it will reduce the public’s dependence on large swaths of land that could be otherwise be developed into nature reserves and serve the public’s need to eat healthy and local. We at Earth’s Promise believe that as much as people are experts at picking that perfect fruit or vegetable that they have the ability to become experts at growing those same fruits and vegetables close to home.

The Torah is also in line with the natural rhythms of life including the seasons of the year. In the Parsha “Toldot”, Esau and Jacob are born and grow up quickly, Esau being a hunter and Jacob a “dweller of tents”. I think that in fact what the Torah means here is that he was a farmer. Jacob couldn’t wander too far from his tents because he had to tend to his garden. It would be interesting to consult with Jacob on the ins and outs of his green thumb, how he prepared his compost, or when to plant and harvest.

When wondering how Jacob’s home garden would look, we could be sure that he was growing lentils. We also know that they were red lentils because Esau asks to eat some of the “red porridge” that Jacob was preparing. That lentil soup must have been so tempting to Esau because he had just come back from a hunt, cold and tired. The stew must have smelled delicious because Esau sold his birthright for it. Maybe in the moment it may have been a good decision to warm his body, but soon after Esau came to despise his birthright.

Biblical times and now aren’t too different in terms of what is good to grow in the winter. In the Kalisher Garden, in Beersheba, the Ethiopian immigrants are just starting the winter planting season. We are anticipating this year’s crop of lentils, many of them Ethiopian varieties, to make our own delicious and nutritious stews.

Lentils are great for the soil as a nitrogen-fixating crop, replenishing our soil after a long summer of corn. Lentils are also full of protein, which make you feel full and give your body energy to warm itself!

As it rains here in Beersheba, I am thinking about making my own lentil soup . . . Here is Moran’s recipe.

Here is Moran’s recipe for a delicious lentil soup:

Preparation time: 15 minutes.

Cooking time 1 hour

Onion 1

Tomatoes 2

Carrots 2

Sweet Potato 1

Celery 1 stalk

Red Lentils ½ Cup

Green Lentils 1 Cup

Salt and Pepper To Taste

Cumin One Teaspoon

Parsley or Cilantro To Taste

Olive Oil 3 tablespoons

Sautee chopped onion until golden, add chopped garlic. After 2 minutes add chopped tomatoes. After a few minutes add chopped carrot and sweet potato. Let the veggies cook and after another two minutes, add lentils. Fill the pot with water until the water is well over the top of the vegetables, while leaving space in the pot. Add the spices and stir. Cover the pot and let the soup cook for one hour on low flame.

(If you want to cut cooking time, you can soak the green lentils in lukewarm water for an hour.