In 2015 our Research Park team painted the Rural Hut to add to the visual experience when visiting our Off-Grid Technology Demonstration Village. The village serves as a testing ground and exhibition site for innovative technologies that provide solutions for communities with limited or no access to electricity, water, and sewage. Photo by: Lindsey Zemler
Have you heard of Furrows in the Desert? Our agricultural development program in Turkana, Kenya, builds local capacity in sustainable agriculture in order to create greater food production for food security and the generation of income. Furrows in the Desert is a community-participatory joint program of the Arava Institute, the Missionary Community of St. Paul the Apostle, and local semi-nomadic communities of north Turkana. In the photo: Furrows in the Desert’s 5th agricultural training graduation in 2015. Since 2011, over 200 local farmers have completed the program.
At our 20th year event at צוותא תל אביב Tzavta theater in Tel Aviv, Noa (Achinoam Nini) was presented with an Arava Award for her commitment to honest and open dialogue in the Middle East, and her support of the Arava Institute as a member of our Public Council. Next Tuesday (December 21st, 2021) we will gather to celebrate our 25th anniversary at The Peres Center for Peace & Innovation in Jaffa. Achinoam will of course be there as well, performing together with Mira Awad, another cherished friend and supporter of the Arava Institute. Tickets can be purchased here —> https://arava.org/he/25years/
In 2016, the Public Council gathered for a special cooking class with Dr. Nof Atamna-Ismaeel, winner of Israels’s 4th season of Master Chef and member of the public council, to prepare and enjoy some tasty regional specialties. #supporters #food #celebreties #tasty #nostalgia #fun
Remember the Spring 2016 Eco-Carnival? Our students and interns ran an event for the Kibbutz Ketura community to raise awareness for environmental issues, and show creative uses for recycled material. In the picture: the Green Giant – the official Eco-Carnival mascot. #eco-carnival #community #impact #recycling #plasticreuse #fun #awareness #activism
A date with the President! Our Beyond Borders Tour participants in 2018 finished their incredible journey across Jordan, Israel, and Palestine by meeting with President of Israel Reuven Rivlin. The Beyond Borders Tour offers not only tours of beautiful sites like Petra and Wadi Rum, but also unique firsthand experience with the environmental and political scenes of the Middle East, by engaging with Arava Institute projects and meeting with high-level officials and diplomats. Registration for the 2022 Beyond Borders Tour has just opened – learn more and sign up at https://arava.org/beyond-borders-tour/! Photo credit: President’s House Spokesperson
A cute baby photo of our date palm, Methuselah – one of the most famous trees in the world. He holds a Guinness World Record for being the oldest seed ever germinated! Archaeologists at excavations of Masada in the 1960’s discovered 2,000-year-old seeds of extinct date palm trees, and in 2005 a few seeds were given to our scientist Dr. Elaine Solowey. In cooperation with Dr. Sarah Sallon from Hadassah Medical Center, she successfully germinated one seed that grew into a full-grown tree, named Methuselah for the oldest man in the Bible, effectively bringing this species back from extinction! Methuselah is a lot bigger now, and has been featured in countless media outlets, including the New York Times, National Geographics, the BBC, and more. #seeds #ancient #methuselah #dates #science #masada
In 2017, over 150000 people worldwide took to the streets at the People’s Climate March. The date fell on our yearly Alumni Conference, held at the Dana Biosphere Reserve in Jordan that year, so we participated virtually with 140 alumni and staff and their families. #memorylane #alumni #climatemarch #nostalgia #conference #community
In 2016 our students and interns constructed a geodesic dome on campus after some intensive learning as part of the Environmental Leadership Seminar. Geodesic domes are hemispheres made up of triangles that are considered particularly strong and economical structures. They can serve as a base for a variety of houses and other buildings, and are also used as climbing structures and aesthetic landscaping items. #ecobuilding #campuslife #fall16 #workingtogether #creative #triangles #nostalgia
Remember when Dr. Elaine Solowey, Director of the Institute’s Center for Sustainable Agriculture, had the honor of meeting the Dalai Lama?! In 1999, His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama visited the Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem, and expressed interest in meeting Dr. Solowey, who had been cooperating on research on Tibetan medicinal herbs. During their meeting, Dr. Solowey offered him the gift of an especially large Pitaya fruit, then grown commercially on Kibbutz Ketura. #history #celebrating25 #25years #dalailama #agriculture #nostalgia #pitaya #visits