| Photos to follow |
If you have lemons make lemonade. If you have desert brackish water and limited fresh water learn to grow sweeter fruits and vegetables by mixing the two. Land in the Jaffa region is too valuable for large orange groves, so the Jaffa Orange widely distributed in Europe, is now grown primarily in the Negev. Planful forestation of multiple tree species is reversing the encroachment of the desert, creating habitable space. Riverbed cleanup in a large urban center creates conditions to improve real estate values and attract new residents.
I have volunteered on the Jewish National Fund (JNF or Keren Kayemet in Israel) media marketing committee and they arranged for a private tour of some of the Negev projects. Tanya, a very knowledgeable Kiwi (New Zealander) transplant gave me a tour of the efforts to make the deserts commercially viable for agriculture and to absorb additional population. For more on JNF www.kk.org.il
We saw:
- the R&D Ramat HaNegev station where they test ways to grow fruit, vegetables and spices with mixtures of brackish and sweet water to optimize yield and profit.
- Parks designed for safety, fun, ecology (biological bathrooms no water or chemicals) to provide “green lungs” for the stressed
- Riverbed restoration in Beersheva so the population can expand in an area previously shunned because of garbage and pollution
- The Besor reservoirs (among 167 built by JNF) to maximize the use of the limited rainfall in the country
I was aware of the work JNF does, but seeing is understanding at a deeper level. The water and ecology challenge is as great as the security issues that dominate the news. Water is optimally recycled, captured, diverted, and utilized. An extended draught or diversion of the rivers from Lebanon or Syria (which has been attempted) could be devastating. The ingenuity to make Israel a more livable, green place is evident in the work by JNF and other organizations. The future challenge of movng people to settlements in the Negev, expansion of Beersheva, and continuous improvement of agricultural methods by research and technology is a great endeavor. I am also impressed by how careful the planning is to fit with the natural cycles of the plant and wildlife. People have learned from mistakes (such as the draining of the Hula Valley in the1950’s which contaminated the water table) so that ecological balance is preserved as possible.
I bid farewell to Avraham, my host and travel companion, and begin the last leg of my journey where it began: Jerusalem.
