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79 S. Pleasant St. #A5
Amherst, MA 01002
(888) 515-7333
Israel: Peace, Justice and the Environment at Kibbutz Lotan

Overview
Explore the connections between new forms of ecological identity and stewardship, social justice and community in Israel. Work alongside Palestinian-Arab, Bedouin and Jewish Israelis who are striving for a just and lasting peace. Gain hands-on experience in ecological design, green building and sustainable agriculture and put permaculture into action in a Bedouin Village in the Negev Desert.

Through engagement with a holistic approach to world issues that encompasses inner, cultural, and outer processes, you will broaden and deepen your understanding of sustainability and ecology. Hands-on experience with habitat restoration, local organic food production, teaching in village schools, working with village action groups and more, help build a growing theoretical understanding of issues relating to global sustainability.

Learn from experts about cutting-edge ecological building techniques such as adobe, straw bale, and geodesic domes, as well as permaculture design. Engage in peace dialogues with marginalized groups around their experience and ideas for creating peace and justice in the region. This program emphasizes critical thinking, open-mindedness, consensus decision-making, community living and non-violent communication in order to explore sensitive international, community and personal dynamics.

 

Highlights
Gain hands-on experience with organic gardening, adobe brick and straw bale construction, building with recycled materials and more at the Center for Creative Ecology at Kibbutz Lotan.

Experience environmental justice issues
first-hand in the Negev Desert with Bustan L'Shalom, a local environmental justice organization.

Live in a mixed Arab and Jewish community in the center of Israel, meet with municipal representatives and community groups, and experience Arab culture.

Visit old and new Jerusalem, tour the separation barrier, and float in the Dead Sea.

Put permaculture into action working on a community project in a Bedouin village in the Negev Desert.
Experience the School for Peace's unique approach to dialogue between groups in conflict at Neve Shalom - Wahat al-Salam.

 

Kibbutz Lotan and Neve Shalom ~ Wahat al-Salam

Kibbutz Lotan is located in Israel's southern Arava valley, an extremely arid environment with an average of 30mm rainfall a year. The community is based on Reform Zionist Jewish values and is committed to renewing Judaism, equality, economic cooperation, ecology and community. Most of the Living Routes classes will take place within the environmental education park and eco-neighborhood/campus.

Neve Shalom ~ Wahat al-Salam, or "Oasis of Peace", is an intentional bi-national community of Israeli Jews and Palestinian Arabs with Israeli citizenship. The village is located equidistant from Jerusalem and Tel-Aviv/Jaffa. They have several educational projects including the School for Peace, a bilingual, bi-national elementary school, and a pluralistic spiritual center.

 

Read more about Kibbutz Lotan »

Read more about Naveh Shalom»


Courses

Peacebuilding and Social Justice (Judaic and Near Eastern Studies 390L) (4 cr.)

Students explore social and environmental justice issues in Israel/Palestine from a variety of Israeli and Palestinian and Bedouin perspectives and learn tools for building a just peace.

 

Group Dynamics (Communication 352) (4 cr.)

Students learn service learning methodologies and skills for living in community. They create their own learning community while living in and contributing to social and development projects in kibbutzim, traditional villages, towns and bi-national intentional communities.

 

Permaculture Design (Plant and Soil Sciences 298B)(4 cr.)

Theoretical and practice-based course focusing on the context, skills and tools required for the design of sustainable human habitats in different environments. Using new ecological knowledge, students help lead a process of needs-assessment and design projects that will make a difference in village lives.

 

Sustainable Building (4 cr.)

Foundation course emphasizing theory and practice-based learing. Students focus on the skills, methods and materials associated with ecological design and construction, appropriate technologies, and the building of sustainable communities

      

Academic Credit
Earn 16 transferable credits through the University of Massachusetts Amherst


Find out about transferring credits to your home school »

 

Permaculture gardening in Action at Kibbutz Lotan.
Permaculture gardening in action at Kibbutz Lotan.

Program Dates (subject to change)

September 1 - December 9
Application Deadline: Extended

*Rolling admissions on a first come first serve basis. Contact us for late availability.

Learn how to apply »

Questions? Contact us »

Students constructing a strawbale and earth geodesic dome.
Students constructing a strawbale and earth geodesic dome.

Costs

tuition, program costs, room and board, in-country travel .... $14,200

credit... Included


Learn about financial aid options »

•Additional Scholarships available from the Harold Grinspoon Foundation


Program at a Glance
Week 1: Kibbutz Lotan
Introduction to Kibbutz Lotan and the Center for Creative Ecology
Creation of a learning community
Weeks 2 - 10: Kibbutz Lotan
Seminars and group activities at Kibbutz Lotan
Practice meets theory in hands on work in the organic garden and ecological building techniques including adobe bricks, geodesic domes, straw bale and construction with recycled materials
Field trips to neighboring kibbutzim,ecological sites and natural areas
Seminars, group discussions and films to present a broad view of the Israeli and ecological issues
Facilitation of and participation in community activities, discussions and decision making process
Week 11: Service Learning in Abu Thul
Bring ecological design concepts into the field in a hands on eco-building project in an unrecognized Bedouin village in the northern Negev Desert
Work with Bedouin students at a learning site created by the village in partnership with Bustan L'Shalom
Experience desert agriculture and Bedouin culture
Week 12-14: Intensive at Neve Shalom - Wahat al-Salam
Introduction to Naveh Shalom - Wahat al Salam and the School for Peace
Seminars, panel discussions, group discussions and films present a broad view of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
Field trips to Arab villages in the north of Israel, destroyed Arab villages in the area, Jerusalem and the separation wall to meet with Jewish and Arab municipal representatives and community groups
Learn, observe and practice the School for Peace's approach to dialogue between groups in conflict
Work on independent study projects
Week 15: Return to Kibbutz Lotan
Closing sessions and celebrations
Permaculture gardening in Action at Kibbutz Lotan.
Adobe Building: learning skills through service.

Faculty

Mark Millstone Naveh
M.Sc., South Bank University in London; Honours (MA equiv.), James Cook University of North Queensland; B.Sc., University of Sydney
Born in England, Millstone Naveh grew up in Australia, and graduated with degrees in Ecology and Education for Sustainability. A resident of Kibbutz Lotan since 1989, he is the principle guide at the Center for Creative Ecology and is responsible for the Center's educational programming.

 

Michael Livni
MD, University of British Columbia
Born in Vienna, Livni grew up in Vancouver, B.C., and graduated with a specialization in Social Psychiatry. Livni served as coordinator for the Israeli Reform Youth Movement and has worked in various agricultural and economic fields. Since 1986, he has lived on Kibbutz Lotan, where he has been instrumental in establishing a widely successful program of educational ecology and eco-tourism.

 

Dr. Rabah Halabi
Ph.D., Hebrew University
Rabah Halabi is the head of the School for Peace research center and was, for many years, director of the School For Peace. He is the editor of a recent anthology on the School for Peace approach, Israeli and Palestinian Identities in Dialogue. Dr. Halabi earned his Ph.D. in Hebrew University's Department of Education, completing research on the development of the identity of the Druze minority in Israel, and continues to lectures in that department today.

 

Nava Sonnenschein
Ph.D., Hebrew University
Founder of the School for Peace, Dr. Sonnenschein has 29 years experience in the field of Jewish-Arab conflict resolution and completed her doctorate at Hebrew University on identity and conflict. She has taught this subject for the past 15 years at Tel Aviv University. She is now responsible for School For Peace courses that train doctors, teachers, social workers, and other professionals to become agents for social change in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

 

Leah Zigmond 

M.S., Environmental Science and Management, Duquesne University

BA, Biology, Chatham University
Zigmond has been a Lotan resident for 8 years and works at Lotan's Center for Creative Ecology overseeing new developments in the 'Eco-Kef' ecology park as well as creating environmental education programs for visitors of all ages. She also manages the Kibbutz 1/2 acre vegetable garden and teaches classes on plant biology and sustainable desert gardening. Zigmond has also worked for the Southern Arava Research and Development Station, overseeing various field experiments. With a backgound in both market gardening and agricultural research Zigmond's particular passions include sustainable irrigation practices and community supprorted agriculture.

 

Michal Zak
M.A., Hebrew University

A longtime School For Peace staff member, Zak completed an MA at Hebrew University, and wrote her thesis on the role of language in the Jewish -Arab conflict. She has worked for more than 20 years with groups in conflict and has done extensive training in the field. She has published articles on the role of language in encounters, Israeli- Palestinian cooperation, and youth encounters. 

 

 






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79 S. Pleasant Street, Suite A5, Amherst, MA 01002

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