Eco-Israel Newsletter Vol 4, August 2011

Goodbye Eco6
Eco6 has ended, almost everyone has gone home. Certainly though, it was a great 5 months on the Hava & Adam farm. In the last few weeks of the program, the Eco6 graduates were able to accomplish a number of great things.

• Devin redesigned the hand-washing station next to the compost toilets, effectively harnessing the water from the sink to grow scented plants that will create a more pleasant toilet experience.
• Tari & Ruth upgraded the outdoor shower; eco7 should get ready to shower in the company of a beautiful women (er, mermaid) named Shanti, made from broken bits of pottery and other mosaic pieces. [more]
• Hadas redesigned the cafe and with the help of the some of the other Eco6 students installed mud benches with comfy back rests.[more]
• Mateo & Jeremy created the “solar zone” off the kitchen featuring a solar cooker and a solar dehydrator. [more]
• The cold storage was essentially finished with minor finishing touches left for Eco7 to complete.

Shakuf & Eco7
Hava & Adam has been providing vegetables for the trendy gourmet restaurant, Shakuf, in Tel Aviv for the past year or so. With the start of the next Eco-Israel semester, the responsibility for providing Shakuf with its fresh, local and organic produce shifts to Eco-Israel. Click here to read the Jcarrot blog post about it.

If you want to take advantage of this great opportunity (or know someone who might) to be involved in a “real challenge for a real professional experience” of growing food for a posh restaurant in Tel Aviv there is still time and room for a few more good students. Click here to download our application or visit our website for more information.

What's Growing on the Farm
With the summer heat there are lots of great things growing on the farm. The passion fruit vine in the entrance to the farm has hundreds of fruits that are just now becoming ripe. The grapes hanging over the arches throughout the farm are changing colors indicating their ripeness. There is amaranth, corn, summer squash, several varieties of heirloom tomatoes, cucumbers, figs, eggplants, peppers, green beans, okra and more...

Housing Protests Continue to Grow
What started out as a few tents in the heart of Tel Aviv has grown into a massive popular movement of individuals who are fed-up with the difficulties of life in Israel. What does permaculture have to say about the high cost of housing in Israel and the growing gap between rich and power? In the next month we'll ask some of our permaculturists on the farm what they think permaculture has to say and report back in the next edition of Live the Land.