Hava and Adam Ecological Farm

The other day Yisrael, the ecology educator at Idanim school, took me to see the Hava and Adam (Eve and Adam) Ecological Farm here in Modi'in. It was the second day of the Purim break and schools were closed which allowed him the time to give me a tour. Yisrael was on the Modi'in teacher delegation to Rochester this past December and we had some wonderful chats about a number of things including my presentation of Reform Judaism. He is a deep thinker who wants to teach ecological practices in a manner that can easily be understood and adopted.
Having come off a number of days of heavy rain, we met on a cloudy morning that proved to be day with only a few light showers. Still, it was cool and breezy. He greeted me by reflecting how wonderful the rainy weather has been. His view is that of a concerned Israeli who knows the importance of rain as opposed to a tourist or vacationer who is seeking the beautiful sunshine and what we refer to as “pleasant conditions.” The news reports are that Israel has received an increased amount of rain this season helping to raise the level of the Kinneret (the Sea of Galilee) but not nearly enough to offset years of below average amounts of rain. In our prayer book there is a line in the second paragraph of the Tefillah which we refer to as the Gevurot. This line prays for rain from the time of Sukkot until Pesach and for dew from Pesach to Sukkot. Such a prayer being said outside of the land of Israel connects us to the cycle of nature that is needed in Israel. In Rochester the words would have little practical meaning. However if we think about why they were included in the traditional prayers every day of the week we might connect ourselves with matters of life giving forces in nature in the historic homeland of our people. It is as true now as it was for our ancestors when this prayer insertion was adopted.
The ecological farm is on the outskirts but within the city limits of Modi'in. Off to one side of it is a Jewish National Fund forest which is not part of Modi'in. On the other side are recently plowed fields which are now given to a farming company but eventually will turn into the main road from Modi'in to the number 1 highway which connects Tel Aviv with Jerusalem.
The founder of the farm, Yitzik, started teaching environmental education in the Modi'in schools. When he started the farm he brought on other people to do the education in the school. Now many if not all the elementary schools (I know nothing of the programs in the high schools) have environmental educators and designated spaces (ecological gardens) in their facility. Yisrael works in the school and also on the farm.
At the farm there were a number of buildings that were constructed in simple “green” methods. Some use walls made of mud and wood. They in fact reminded me of the mud brick homes I saw in Uganda. These were the same methods as our ancestors used in Egypt.
One house was very colorful because of the different weaving that is done there, and used for some of the decorations. Yisrael explained how they use a number of different materials for insulation in the walls. Also various substances are used in the weaving. Right now there is an open porch and he told me they were going to close it off which will be better protection from varying weather conditions.
There was a large plot of land that was divided up into multiple plots. Families, both young and less young, come and work their own plot in this community garden. The staff help to teach them how to do organic farming. There are water collecting systems for irrigation; they produce their own electricity from solar energy and occasionally a generator; and they make great use of compost. He explained how they are even able to compost and transform human waste from the latrine eventually into clean compost. That was something I was totally in the dark about and it amazed me. All around the farm there are diverse plantings and various animals.
In one corner of the farm they have erected dome structures where international students, mostly North Americans come for a long term experience in Israel. It is under the auspices of a program called Masa, which enables young Jewish adults to spend a semester or a year in over 150 different programs in Israel. They live, learn and work on the farm residing in these simple structures. [By the way if interested 18-30 year olds can look into Masa through the Jewish Agency. The website is masaisrael.org]
The final area Yisrael showed me was set up with three ovens which require neither electricity, natural gas nor other petroleum based fuel. The experience at the farm was an eye opener for many “green” possibilities that are within our reach.