Though we are almost half way through the program, it feels like it is just beginning since the Israel part is totally different than our time in India. It has gotten off to what feels like a slow start, but there has also been a lack of communication between the directors and participants of LeadEarth. We have not been on exactly the same page when it comes to the expectations and values of the program. It has certainly been a good learning process. LeadEarth is a radical form of education that is hard for me to understand even though I am participating the program. The founders believe in a different form of education, unlike most the formal education I was raised with they don’t want to spoon feed us information. Instead of telling us how to do something then seeing if we can do it, they want to teach us how to teach ourselves everything. “Everything is a project” and “Everything is part of the program” are frequent phrases when discussing the intentions of LeadEarth, including cementing the walls and getting authority to be let in the Kibbutz gate when we get back at 3am. I love the idea of learning by doing, but at a certain point when you’re paying to be in a program it can feel like just doing everything with not enough learning.
We have a weekly schedule, that we follow roughly. Sundays starting at noon are for greening our apartment which usually including a discussion on permaculture with our new madrica (leader) Amit. Our first Sunday we constructed a compost with materials we scavenged for our the Kibbutz, and a protected area to start sprouting seeds. Then we have a group dinner (which we do every night anyways) and some sort of presentation or activity by someone in the group. The first Sunday Amit shared pictures about her experience in the Arava mud building, the following Sunday I shared pictures and stories about my time in Ladakh and Kashmir, and last Sunday Maya held a vegan/no processed sugar chocolate making workshop. Mondays are for our work on the Kibbutz in Gan Kipod. Gan Kipod is an old Syrian bunker and space of land that has been abandoned. The Kibbutz wants to turn it into a nice community space for people of all ages. We are going to work with them to create a space they want, yet has an ecological feel. We have yet to get stated but hope to build some mud benches, picnic tables and playhouses, a taboon and solar oven, an area for BBQ and bon fires, a hand/dish washing station, a community garden, an area with instruments made out of recycled materials, environmental education station and games and even more. It will be interesting to what we actually get done, and what the community actually wants. It’s tricky to work within a community we aren’t really part of, we want to construct something they love and will use and we want them to be part of the process, yet we are ready to get to work and their still trying to organize and find the time. Tuesday’s we head back to An’iam, the permaculture farm we lived for our first ten days. From 8-12 we will be working on building a mud house or various projects for Sophie such as creating an insulating wall around the farm made out of plastic bottles, mud, straw, water and a little cement. From 1-3:30ish we will have different permaculture workshops with Sophie such as working with herbs to make oils, soaps and popari. Wednesdays are our regional projects. Maya and Jobie are working to ‘green’ the regional council building while Marianne and I are going to try to start a composting program in Ein Zivan that can then be applied to any kibbutzim in the Golan. Thursdays are our personal project days. We will have the opportunity to meet with the directors Yarden and Uri and have a group session related to project development and a personal session related to our own projects. I have yet to decided what my project will be, even though I have had the last three months to think about it, but there are so many things I want to do and so little I feel like I actually have the knowledge to do.
I think that a main aim of LeadEarth is to show us that we do actually have most the tools we need to do most anything. And the more I see examples of projects the more I realized this. Sophie’s farm is too hot in the summer and too cool in the winter so even though she has never built with plastic bottles and mud before she is going to go ahead and try it out. The founders of Sadhana had a vision and went for it, Jody saw something that horrified her (trash in the beautiful Indian mountains) and wanted to try to help. At first with our regional council project I felt like LeadEarth didn’t supply us with the knowledge need to create a community wide compost project since I know very little about composting. I wanted them to hire an expert composter and show me what to do. But instead they gave us a few simple workshops on composting and a playground to try whatever we want. We’re not getting paid so it doesn’t matter if doesn’t come out perfect the first try. And when we do have questions and need help, which I am sure we will, they are a resource we can turn to that can help out how ever needed.
In theory I’m starting to understand the idea behind LeadEarth, though it’s hard to tell how it is working in reality. Though I am having an amazing experience and doing a lot of cool stuff, I haven’t felt so challenged yet. The first few weeks have been really fun, though it barely feels like the program has started. We are going through a hard time matching the expectations of the participants and directs, but like everything else it is a project and a good learning experience. That’s what life is, a lot of little opportunities to learn from every day to grow internally.
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