Integrate Environmental Passion with Jewish Identity
“The art of communal self-sufficiency begins with the earth. Healthy land supports healthy plants. These living beings provide us with the food, fiber, medicine, and building materials necessary for our own livelihood. As we humbly receive these tools of life, we must be fully aware, conscious of how to take graciously and give back in return. Our hope is to enter this sacred relationship, cultivating a holistic community, guided by the wisdom of our ancient Hebrew teachings and the songs of the land that supports us.”
- Yigal Deutscher, Eco-Israel Founder & Permaculture Instructor
- Yigal Deutscher, Eco-Israel Founder & Permaculture Instructor
Program Curriculum
Field Work
Our classroom is the living-outdoors and the experiential education will be very-hands on. Agricultural work is centered on 5 separate hand-dug & bio-intensive garden plots, each filled with a great diversity of heirloom, open-pollinated vegetable varieties, as well as an abundance of perennial flowers & herbs, and a small orchard.
Work varies depending on the seasonal patterns and weather conditions. All work is done side-by -side, and with the assistance of farm staff.
Daily field activities can involve working in the vegetable gardens, with animals, in construction projects using wood, stone, and/or mud, and maintaining the general upkeep & order of the site.
You will be learning by doing. This means you will be exposed to the sometimes difficult but realistic pressures and responsibilities of running a farm…which could mean long work hours and extreme weather conditions. As an apprentice, the farm’s success will depend on you, your attitude and work ethic. You will need to have a certain level of mental & physical preparation to continuously approach this lifestyle.
As much as the work is demanding, the blessings are endless. You will have a real-life education with practical experience, that includes both the wonders and the challenges of daily farm happenings.
Our classroom is the living-outdoors and the experiential education will be very-hands on. Agricultural work is centered on 5 separate hand-dug & bio-intensive garden plots, each filled with a great diversity of heirloom, open-pollinated vegetable varieties, as well as an abundance of perennial flowers & herbs, and a small orchard.
Work varies depending on the seasonal patterns and weather conditions. All work is done side-by -side, and with the assistance of farm staff.
Daily field activities can involve working in the vegetable gardens, with animals, in construction projects using wood, stone, and/or mud, and maintaining the general upkeep & order of the site.
You will be learning by doing. This means you will be exposed to the sometimes difficult but realistic pressures and responsibilities of running a farm…which could mean long work hours and extreme weather conditions. As an apprentice, the farm’s success will depend on you, your attitude and work ethic. You will need to have a certain level of mental & physical preparation to continuously approach this lifestyle.
As much as the work is demanding, the blessings are endless. You will have a real-life education with practical experience, that includes both the wonders and the challenges of daily farm happenings.
Class Work
Our guided educational component is broken up into the subjects of agriculture, permaculture living skills, plant crafts & culture, and Israel/Jewish Studies.
Agriculture
Greenhouse management & plant propagation, garden bed preparation, compost & vermicompost, irrigation techniques, soil fertility management, plant botany, seed saving & the seed industry, social issues in modern agriculture, environmental issues in modern agriculture, history of agricultural evolution.
Permaculture Living Skills
Using whole system thinking & design, we will study how our daily decision-making processes affect our greater ecosystem. Our experiential curriculum will teach you about: sustainable methods of energy production, organic food production and preparation, waste management and composting, water conservation and gray water reclamation, mud construction, recycling, and perennial-based agriculture.
Plant Craft & Culture
Applied herbology & medicine making, fermentations, canning, jams, wine & beer making, breads.
Jewish & Israel Studies
As part of the broader Eco-Israel curriculum, participants will study Jewish land ethics and learn about the relationship between the Jewish people and the Land of Israel through Jewish texts, traditions, and holidays. In addition, Eco-Israel provides a unique perspective for studying the modern state of Israel and Zionism through an ecological lens.
Hebrew Language Skills
There will be an organized program that is tailored to each person’s level – classes taught by certified teachers, individual book work, and an emphasis on listening to and speaking with the Israelis living on the farm alongside you. You will be living in a community of Hebrew and English speakers, so you can take full advantage of the opportunity to practice your Hebrew whenever you wish.
Agriculture
Greenhouse management & plant propagation, garden bed preparation, compost & vermicompost, irrigation techniques, soil fertility management, plant botany, seed saving & the seed industry, social issues in modern agriculture, environmental issues in modern agriculture, history of agricultural evolution.
Permaculture Living Skills
Using whole system thinking & design, we will study how our daily decision-making processes affect our greater ecosystem. Our experiential curriculum will teach you about: sustainable methods of energy production, organic food production and preparation, waste management and composting, water conservation and gray water reclamation, mud construction, recycling, and perennial-based agriculture.
Plant Craft & Culture
Applied herbology & medicine making, fermentations, canning, jams, wine & beer making, breads.
Jewish & Israel Studies
As part of the broader Eco-Israel curriculum, participants will study Jewish land ethics and learn about the relationship between the Jewish people and the Land of Israel through Jewish texts, traditions, and holidays. In addition, Eco-Israel provides a unique perspective for studying the modern state of Israel and Zionism through an ecological lens.
Hebrew Language Skills
There will be an organized program that is tailored to each person’s level – classes taught by certified teachers, individual book work, and an emphasis on listening to and speaking with the Israelis living on the farm alongside you. You will be living in a community of Hebrew and English speakers, so you can take full advantage of the opportunity to practice your Hebrew whenever you wish.
Field Trips
As part of the Eco-Israel curriculum, you will travel, hike and explore Israel from the Negev Desert to the Golan. These trips cover a variety of ecological, cultural and historical points of interest in Israel and introduce you to the amazing work and and groups that make Israel a world leader in sustainability.
Eco-Israel Staff
Naomi Katz, Education Director
Naomi received her BA from Brown University and MA from UC Berkeley, and is certified as a Master Herbalist from Ran Herbs College of Phytotherapy (Israel). She is also a certified Permaculture Educator. Before making aliyah, she taught middle and high school for several years in the US and also started a school garden program with students in East Oakland, CA. She began to connect with the land at Oz Farm, in northern California and soon realized that though California is beautiful, her land is Israel. Naomi made aliyah in 2007, an outgrowth of her years in Young Judaea and her Zionist upbringing.
Idan Eliakim, Permaculture Instructor
Idan’s first step into the world of agriculture started in 2004 after he finished his military service, working as a shepherd and a grape harvester. This experience led him to seek a more natural and balanced way of life and his first permaculture design course. Then, Idan opened a small organic gardening business. In 2006, he met Yigal and together they joined “Hava & Adam” to create a CSA and a hands-on, apprenticeship program. That was a very meaningful year but Idan felt a strong need to deepen his knowledge so he signed up to the Hebrew University in Jerusalem earning a degree in agronomy specializing in open area management and forestry. This past year Idan worked for a local CSA in the central coastal area of Israel and as a pest inspector in vineyards. Today, Idan sees his main goal to be education by combining academic knowledge and field experience.
Elisheva Cohen-Fried, Creative Specialist
Elisheva was born and raised in Jerusalem to an American family that made aliya. She graduated from an orthodox experimental high school, and completed her army service in an intelligence unit.
Her initial interest in ecology and sustainable living began during her academic studies at the Betzalel School of Art and Design in Jerusalem. During a semester abroad, in San Francisco, she was inspired by a sustainable design course and began to create with the planet and its inhabitance in mind. She exhibited her designs at an exhibition in Turkey, “Fashion for Sustainability” Curator- Kate Fletsher, and at a Family Day at the SF Moma. Upon returning to Israel she pursued a different approach to ecological design and finished her degree with a basket weaving project that creates resting points and seats in public spaces in Jerusalem. The project, “Walking Distance”, was followed by two municipal exhibitions that continued with the street weaving technique.
After completing her BfA she began to work at the ‘Hava ve Adam’ farm in the grade school ecology programs, gaining valuable experience in gardening and education.
Her initial interest in ecology and sustainable living began during her academic studies at the Betzalel School of Art and Design in Jerusalem. During a semester abroad, in San Francisco, she was inspired by a sustainable design course and began to create with the planet and its inhabitance in mind. She exhibited her designs at an exhibition in Turkey, “Fashion for Sustainability” Curator- Kate Fletsher, and at a Family Day at the SF Moma. Upon returning to Israel she pursued a different approach to ecological design and finished her degree with a basket weaving project that creates resting points and seats in public spaces in Jerusalem. The project, “Walking Distance”, was followed by two municipal exhibitions that continued with the street weaving technique.
After completing her BfA she began to work at the ‘Hava ve Adam’ farm in the grade school ecology programs, gaining valuable experience in gardening and education.
Nadav Solowey, Program Director
Nadav was born and raised on Kibbutz Ketura, located in southern Israel.
He was an active member of the Israeli Conservative Jewish youth movement –“NOAM” - for many years. In the army he served in the “Golani” infantry unit and still serves in a reserve unit. At Ben Gurion University, he studied Geology and worked for the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel (SPNI) and the Jewish National Fund (JNF/KKL).
Nadav likes to hike, juggle, play capu’era, cook and bake. In summers he takes groups of tourists on jeep-tours in Turkey and Montenegro.
He was an active member of the Israeli Conservative Jewish youth movement –“NOAM” - for many years. In the army he served in the “Golani” infantry unit and still serves in a reserve unit. At Ben Gurion University, he studied Geology and worked for the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel (SPNI) and the Jewish National Fund (JNF/KKL).
Nadav likes to hike, juggle, play capu’era, cook and bake. In summers he takes groups of tourists on jeep-tours in Turkey and Montenegro.
Yigal Deutscher, Eco-Israel Founder & Permaculture Instructor
Yigal grew up in New York City and began farming as an ADAMAH Fellow at the Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center in Connecticut. He received a certificate in Agroecology from University of California, Santa Cruz (Center for Agroecology & Sustainable Food Systems), as well as a Permaculture Design Certificate from the Permaculture Research Institute in Australia. He is also a member of the Jewish Farm School Collective.
Yigal will be on leave for the year, starting September 2010, as he studies with the Regenerative Design Institute in northern California. To reach him directly, feel free to contact him at shorashimroots@yahoo.com.
Yigal will be on leave for the year, starting September 2010, as he studies with the Regenerative Design Institute in northern California. To reach him directly, feel free to contact him at shorashimroots@yahoo.com.
Gili Chupak, Marketing & Recruitment Coordinator
Gili grew up in Maryland and received his BA from the University of Maryland. He spent several years in San Francisco and Santa Cruz in California and then moved back to his birth place, New York City.
He received an MS from the New School for Social Research and worked for several different nonprofits on disaster relief & recovery, environmental advocacy and mental health entrepreneurship.
Gili practices T'ai Chi Chih and is a Field Center Certified Facilitator. He currently lives with his wife, Cindy, in Ra'anana, Israel.
He received an MS from the New School for Social Research and worked for several different nonprofits on disaster relief & recovery, environmental advocacy and mental health entrepreneurship.
Gili practices T'ai Chi Chih and is a Field Center Certified Facilitator. He currently lives with his wife, Cindy, in Ra'anana, Israel.
