Mud Domes

Hands down, my favorite practical element of the program so far is working on the mud domes in the new Bustan neighborhood. I am glad the domes weren’t done and ready for us to move into when we arrived, because working on these little houses has been incredibly rewarding and enjoyable.

This week we worked on the domes in two groups. I was in one dome with three other people and each of us worked on a different section inside. The dome in the forefront is the one I was working in:


There’s still a lot of work to be done, which I think is super exciting. For example, the ceiling still needs to be completely covered. In this photo you can see the straw bale construction, and the dome’s geodesic frame:



We didn’t mix mud in plastic bins, by hand, for this project. Mike taught us how to use the cement mixer so we could produce a lot of mud quickly. In this photo you can see the cement mixer and behind it the (1) pool of clay and (2) pile of sand---two of the major components in making the mud:



I worked on covering the pipe alongside the bottom of the dome:



The pipe is now covered by the strip of mud (the wet part) that I added. This took a couple hours and was very fun!




Working on the domes is especially meaningful after our many theoretical classes about natural building. We do with our hands what our discussions and lectures demand. In this way, the Green Apprenticeship is very different from my experience thus far in academia. Learning and doing are inseparable here.

There were a few moments that stood out to me when we were working on the domes. They all stood out for the same, simple reason: silence! There is something remarkable about reaching that point when everyone working with his or her own bucket of mud on a certain section of the dome becomes totally engulfed in that activity. There is no need to converse. Everyone is simply working! When I first noticed that quietness I could feel it in my whole body...the attention I was paying to my work, and the connection between that kind of total immersion and personal discovery. Those silences were few and tiny...but when they arrived I knew what they meant and I knew their placement in the hours of work and I could feel the waves of them coming and going. Do you know what I mean? How silence can mean much more than silence?


Best group of mud people!!!

Amit, Adam, Neta, Yaara, Ohad, me, Efrat, Maya, Deedee, Katie

Alternative Building

The practical lessons of the Green Apprenticeship program have so far focused on two different areas of sustainable living: organic gardening and alternative building. Prior to my arrival in Lotan, I didn't know much about building with mud and junk--the meaning or process or theory or practice. In the last week I've grown to really, really love both the theoretical and practical elements of this work! There is something incredibly satisfying about using available resources, and materials that would otherwise be dumped, to construct something functional and significant.

My group has been working on building a little bit in the "Bustan," which is a new neighborhood in the kibbutz. When the construction there is finished, my group will move to the Bustan and live in mud domes and use composting toilets and share a communal kitchen...and everything creating and upholding that living space will be rooted in the core of this program and its lessons. For now, while the neighborhood is still under construction, we're building two spots for future conversation and relaxation: benches built from mud and tires and sand and junk under the shade of a lovely tree.

Here are some photos from the building:

Katie and Efrat trimming the tree that will provide shade for the benches:


Rolling the tires over to the area where the benches will be:


Drawing up designs for the placement of the two benches:


We had to make sure the tires were level on the ground, and then we began filling these tires with sand (the other bench's tires were filled with junk):


Here I'm tucking the sand into the tire to make it sturdy. You can see behind they're checking the level of that tire:


This is the bench filled with junk. Yaara was helping me jump to push down the materials! (photo from Katie):


By the end of that day, we'd filled all the tires of the two benches. The second day, we made concrete and built a small wall of stones around the edges of the tires. The concrete held the stones in place before we began applying coats of mud over the tires. I really enjoyed making the concrete mix and mud mix! Here I am with Yaara working on the little wall:


We made two different coats of mud and began covering all the tires and gaps between tires. Over the weekend, the mud is drying, and next week we'll apply the final coats. It is so rewarding and fun to build with this stuff!

I loved walking from those sun-soaked morning hours to the dining hall for lunch with mud in my hair, on my face, arms, hands, clothes.

Happy New Year!

love,
Sheer

morning hike!

Last week we hiked among the hills west of the kibbutz. The sun rose behind us and the desert was glowing subtly.
During our break in the middle of the hike, our leader David gave us a fantastic geology lesson about this region. Amazing!

in Kibbutz Lotan

The desert stretches endlessly and rests in every corner as if it has been here forever. Yesterday my group hiked in the hills just west of the kibbutz and the sand was like a glorious window into so many stories. East of the kibbutz is Jordan and the red, majestic mountains that give birth to the sunrise every morning.

We wake here at 5:30am and, thus, the sunrise is part of every day.

I am in a group with ten other students, and they are all incredible people full of passion and ideology and commitment. All around me are good ideas and good hearts.

I have a million things to write and beautiful photos to share. Hopefully I'll have time this weekend to do so!