Permaculture in the Arava desert in Israel. Basic soil, water, and waste solutions, natural building, creative recycling, the green apprenticeship at kibbutz Lotan, ecovillage design, and alternative desert technology.

2. ahhhh.

3. b sustainability is beautiful!

4. Where?

5. somewhere dry...

7. The Arava Desert

9. Sustainable?

10. flourishing habitat around Kibbutz Lotan

11. abundant life

13. Kibbutz Lotan Organic Garden (drip irrigation)‏

15. Earthen wall and geodessic dome Like innovative and beautiful structures!

16. and flourishing gardens

17. Desert Garden

18. Kibbutz Lotan amidst the harsh Arava

23. Green Apprentices (GA's)‏ learning to work together‏

24. GA's

25. GA group picture

27. What is Permaculture?

31. food scraps for sheet mulch garden (old food will soon grow new food!)‏

32. Permaculture Ethics:

33. listen up!

34. Care for the Earth! planting trees, eliminating waste, improving soil

35. Care for People! helping each other out

36. like a friendly massage

37. Sharing of Resources!

38. sharing pizza

39. sharing a broom

40. sharing tractors

43. future “living” shade structure

45. Ecological Building and Technology

46. parabolic solar cooker

47. taboon (earthen) oven geodessic domes solar oven

48. solar powered mud tea house

49. wind catching “desert coolers” on homes homes with wind catching “desert coolers”

51. making mud (its fun)‏

53. making cob

54. weee!

55. worms!

56. and the finished product is beautiful!

58. building a straw bale room

59. in the room

61. solar oven thermal mass insulation

63. geodessic straw bale mud dome

64. building the frame

65. my beloved home... after 3 coats of mud and beautification

66. inside the dome

70. neighbourhood west view: domes

71. dome entrance ways (before beautification)‏

72. After Beautification

73. future classroom

74. dining area / social quarters: (community space is very important!)‏

75. composting toilets (1)‏ (where all the shit goes down!)‏

76. composting toilet

77. composting toilets (2)‏

78. wash area showers

79. neighbourhood (north view)‏

80. Northwest view

82. Fun Projects: Practical experiments in sustainability and laughter during the Green Apprenticeship

83. mud bench stage 1: fill tires with junk

84. mud bench stage 2: first coat (sticky mud)‏

85. mud bench stage 3: rock and concrete “ good shoes” base

86. mud bench stage 4 and 5: thick second coat mud and aesthetic (no straw) final coat

87. finished with reused veggie oil and turpentine

88. neighbourhood sheet mulch garden

89. personal veggie gardens (after 1 month)‏

90. double dug compost trench garden

91. children play dome

92. cob wall

93. new domes frame construction

96. nice and peaceful..

97. kinda scary...

99. desertification of what once was lush (where did all the trees go?)‏ studying gardening in the desert doesn't seem so crazy anymore...

100. pesticides and fertilizers have killed the micro- organisms in the soil, leaving it dry and sad... healthy ecosystems need topsoil!

101. topsoil lost to wind erosion after clear cut

103. There Is Hope!

105. Soil Solutions= Waste and Water Management

109. Compost (Human created Topsoil): Can Save the World Today! make your own pile at home!

110. 3 feet by 3 feet pile is ideal size

112. home (continuous) compost system: ready compost at base

117. 7 year old trees Neot Smadar

118. planted Oasis: Naot Smadar

119. Elaine Solloway's “desert compatible” tree orchard: Kibbutz Ketura

120. trees in the desert yielding topsoil!

124. volunteer work with Bedoin near Beer Sheva

125. We can not go back to tribal ways, but we can learn a lot from where we have been. Lets move Forward TOGETHER- using technology appropriately, focusing on our potential, and be the stewards of regeneration!

126. its fun to work together!

127. your turn!

128. help put the common back into sense!