CAARI's Fourth Day

Written and photographed by Nahum Eisenstadt

The fourth day of the CAARI program, 19 January, began early with an hour drive from Eilat to a Kibbutz called Neot Smadar, once an abandoned IDF Nahal outpost, reestablished and reinhabited in 1989 by a group of determined pioneers from various cities in Israel with a dream to create a new environment, an environmentally friendly community in the form of a traditional collectivized kibbutz. We met one of the kibbutz members, Anat, who explained the first project of the kibbutz members was to build a tower that is still the major landmark. The membersa were not experienced engineers and made many mistakes that they would learn from later on pouring concrete etc. CAARI climbed the steps to the top for a breathtaking view of the surrounding country side. The kibbutz has a goat dairy, winery, pottery workshop and carpentry shop as well as vacation units that couples and small families can stay over for a week end. The last two pictures show the development of the kibbutz lands from the top of the tower built by the first kibbutz members together. The agricultural areas are the fruit of the assistance from the KKL-JNF that built the wastewater treatment and agricultural infrastructure for the olive trees and agriculture in this unique desert environment. The first picture shows the largest building on the kibbutz that contains the carpentry and pottery workshops and the tower that we climbed up to view the kibbutz fields.

CAARI Visits Town of Mitzpeh Ramon

Written and photographed by Nahum Eisenstadt

Our fourth day of touring included a stop to meet the town council members of Mitzpeh Ramon, founded in the 1950's as a development town in the Negev. CAARI met a number of important figures in the devlopment of the town today. To begin with Joshua Schmidt a Phd in Anthropology who serves in the Town of Mitzpeh Ramon's, Department of External Relations, gave a brief history and overview of the development of the town from the first immigrants deported from North African countries as a result of the War of Independence through present day situation. We also heard from the head of the Education Department in the Town of Mitzpeh Ramon, Aryeh Broideh, about the two high schools and two Elementary schools that serve the more than 1200 school children in the town of Mitzpeh Ramom. He says that the problem is not money but getting good teachers to come to Mitzpeh Ramon and live there. He also emphasized the great contribution that KKL-JNF has made to the town through the years. Today the town is aproximately 5200 people and is planning on reaching 15,000. This picture shows the CAARI participants listening to the briefing by Joshua and Aryeh in the municipality meeting room adjacent to the Mayor's office.

CAARI in Mitzpeh Ramon

Written and photographed by Nahum Eisenstadt

After the orientation and briefing about the town of Mitzpeh Ramon in the Municipality building meeting room, we went to visit one of the two high schools. This school is called the Shalom School where the peace strategy of Yitzhak Rabin is commemorated. It is an unusual school emphasizing the Arts, where both fine arts and performing arts and the exact sciences are both nurtured. Ronit, the principal, met us and showed us around. She is in the middle of the picture with the black shoes on. Here we are standing at the entrance of the school. We saw the science labs and classrooms and the performing arts rooms where there is a large auditorium for performing arts and a large studio for painting and sculpture etc.

Maktesh Ramon (Crater) Overlook

Written and Photographed by Nahum Eisenstadt

The last stop before the three hour drive to Tel Aviv (for the beginning of the four week volunteer part of the CAARI program) was the famous overlook on the Danny Caravan Sculpture Promenade in Mitzpeh Ramon. This was made possible through the generous help of the KKL JNF which has made a tremendous contribution to this small and troubled town through the last 50 years.

This overlook, called Har Gamal, is a suspended wooden platform overlooking a 30 kilometer long erosive geological window made possible through millions of years of erosion by wind and water, not by the impact of meteors. It shows 250,000,000 years ago what was happening under one of the mountain ridges of the Negev. This pictutre shows the cold temperatures at 1000 meters(3300 feet) above sea level at the Har Gamal overlook on the Ramon Crater with some of our hardier CAARI participants.

Red Mountain Theraputic Riding Center at Kibbutz Grofit

Written and Photographed by Nahum Eisenstadt

The CAARI program began its third touring day at Kibbutz Grofit's Red Mountain Thereputic Riding Center. The first picture shows Kathy shoval in the pink fleece jacket receiving the CAARI group at the Red Mountain Thereputic riding Center. In the back the horses are being mounted by children that are t receive horseback riding therapy. We met Ellen Reisal, Rafi Osmo and Kathy Shoval. Ellen Reisal, the center's psychologist, is shown explaining the therapy and why it is so successful with the most difficult physical and emotional challenged children and adults. Rafi is standing next to her. The other photos show the children receiving therapy on the horses and how they are used.

The JNF of America has contributed generously to this site's infrastructure and provide sscholarship money to children from the surrounding communities and Eilat that otherwise would not be able to receive this vital therapy. The results speak for themselves as do the children who are treated here.

Red Mountain Theraputic Riding Center at Kibbutz Grofit

Written and Photographed by Nahum Eisenstadt

This is a picture of the CAARI participants in back of a special tree planted in honor of Neti Steinman's 90th birthday and her request to make a special donation through the JNF to the Red Mountain Theraputic Riding Center at Kibbutz Grofit. Neti was a long time CAARI participant (as was her daughter Joni) and is now one of our most trusted consultants. Her son Ralph, who passed away tragically one day before the public announcemnet was made, was one of the three recipients of the Nobel prize in medicine this past November. May his memory be a blessing for all.

Touring Kibbutz Ketura Home of the Arava Institute

Written and Photographed by Nahum Eisenstadt

In back of the statue of Ruth that CAARI is posing on is 20 acres of solar panels that became functional only a few months ago. They supply power to the Israel Electric Company power grid and proved that this method of power generation is possible and efficient. It pays for itself inside of seven years and supplies five MW of electricity, enough to power 4 Kibbutzim in the area. There are 18,600 solar panels in this field. There is another field like this one planned to be built just south of the date palm grove on the east side of the Kibbutz fields on the Jordanian border that will be eight times bigger and supply 40 MW of power. Israel generates much less electricity using solar energy than other Western countries do at the moment. The goal is to reach 15% of generated power from solar energy.