|
|
Sept. 9, 2005
Kibbutz is for the birds
Lotan is one of Israel's most unique villages.
PAT JOHNSON
Kibbutz Lotan is a speck in the midst of Israel's Arava Desert,
about 60 kilometres north of Eilat on the Jordanian border. Though
comprised of only about 50 members, the kibbutz is on the flyway
of 500 million birds who migrate between Europe and Africa each
year. Lotan's situation on the flight path has presented the Reform-affiliated
kibbutz with a new mission.
A former Vancouverite who now works developing eco-tourism for Kibbutz
Lotan was in town recently extolling the virtues of his tiny village.
Dr. Michael Livni (whose name while growing up in Vancouver was
Langer) visited his sister, Lucy Laufer, last week and made a presentation
to an audience at Temple Sholom, co-sponsored by the Jewish National
Fund (JNF).
Kibbutz Lotan is working with the JNF to develop an extensive bird
park, running from the southern end of the Dead Sea to the Gulf
of Eilat. Lotan will be one of the park's main centres, with trails
and bird "hives," as well as descriptive signage to educate
tourists about the variety of birds and the unique desert ecosystem.
Livni said some of the millions of birds use the site "as an
oasis, as a gas-stop along the way. We're interested in helping
maintain that biodiversity, and it's also part of ecological tourism
and birdwatching tourism."
Lotan is a Jewish ecological village founded on an ideology of eco-Zionism.
"Kibbutz Lotan is associated with the Israel Movement for Progressive
Judaism – the Reform movement – and we see this as one
aspect of tikkun olam [repair of the world], not only the
birds, but our whole relationship to the environment in what is
a very fragile desert ecosystem," Livni told the Independent.
"The idea of ecology [for] us is rooted in connecting to Jewish
tradition. We are not just greens in the Arava, it's part of our
cultural Zionism."
There are 265 kibbutzim in Israel and Lotan is one of just two associated
with the Reform movement. Moreover, while most kibbutzim –
about three-quarters, according to Livni – have partially or
totally privatized, Kibbutz Lotan remains a collective. Though its
eco-tourism and birdwatching are growth industries, Livni said,
Lotan remains an agricultural collective.
"The main economic branch is a dairy branch, with 275 head
of dairy cattle," said Livni. There are also 50 acres of date
plantation and about a third of Lotan's population works off the
kibbutz, either in Eilat, in the regional administration or at the
regional school. The 50 kibbutz members have 60 children and the
kibbutz also has about 35 people who rent space but are not full
members. There are usually also about 10 volunteers or study group
members in Lotan at any given time.
The development of the bird park is to be aided by recycled water
and the creation of a wetland that will encourage more birds (and
people) to stop in.
"As an ecological village, a central part of that plan is to
take all of the waste water of Kibbutz Lotan, purify it biologically
by means of a constructed wetland and reuse the water for bodies
of water for migratory birds and for some agriculture," Livni
said.
The most common birds making landfall in or near Kibbutz Lotan are
small songbirds, various kinds of warblers, bluethroats and European
bee-eaters, said Livni.
"We have resident birds, too, such as the little green bee-eater
and the Namaqua dove," he added.
In existence since 1985, Lotan is one of Israel's youngest kibbutzim.
It is also part of the Global Ecovillage Network, which links communities,
including some in North America, that share values of sustainability
and environmental sensitivity.
As well as visiting family – Livni has a son and grandchildren
in Vancouver, in addition to his sister – he was spreading
the message of Lotan. It is a great place to visit, he said, with
20 rooms for guests in a "lodge-resort type of arrangement.
"We're encouraging tourists who come to Israel not to miss
the southern Arava and the Negev in general because, from Beersheva
and northward, that's 50 per cent of the country and 95 per cent
of the people live there," he said. "South of Beersheva,
it's another 50 per cent of the country and only five per cent of
the people live there. It's very important, I think, for those who
come to Israel to see that part of Israel as well."
But the small kibbutz is also looking for people who will stay more
than a few days or months.
"We're interested in young people, singles or young couples
without children, who are interested in an aliyah to Kibbutz Lotan,"
Livni said.
More information about Kibbutz Lotan is online at www.kibbutzlotan.com.
Pat Johnson is editor of MVOX Multicultural Digest, www.mvox.ca.
^TOP
|
|
