Photo: UIA Canada

“And God took man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and protect it.”

This quotation from the book of Genesis is displayed prominently at the Nitzana youth village, located deep in the Negev desert, on the border with Egypt.  For at Nitzana, protecting the earth is not just words, but a way of life.

Established 23 years ago by the Jewish Agency, the village has since hosted hundreds of thousands of young visitors.  It runs a range of programs for new immigrants from all over the world as well as for Israeli teens - and is the embodiment of David Ben-Gurion’s twin vision of ingathering the Jewish people and making the desert bloom.

About as far from the country’s urban center as any place in Israel can be, Nitzana has recently transformed itself into a model ecological village.  Its ideals are implemented on a practical level in three key areas:

First, Nitzana is committed to promoting clean, renewable energy, and is developing techniques to create wind- and solar-generated power.  One house in the village is already meeting all its energy needs from solar power; Nitzana’s swimming pool is similarly heated entirely by solar panels.  Second, the village is pioneering ways to minimize water usage;  in Nitzana, for example, the gardens are watered using purified sewage.  Thirdly, Nitzana collects and recycles almost all its garbage - bottles, paper, card, cans and plastic - thereby reducing the amount of trash destined for landfills.  The village’s innovative recycling center is itself built from discarded waste, while the cooking oil used in the kitchens is sold for use as bio-diesel fuel.

“Conserving the earth’s natural resources is the greatest challenge of the third millennium,” says Nitzana’s director David Palmach. 

Determined to spread its message of ecological responsibility far and wide, Nitzana has become a pioneer of environmental education.  Every year, it hosts some 15,000 Israeli teenagers who spend three or four days at the village learning how and why to protect the planet. 

“These students are our future politicians and policy-makers,“ says Karen Kellerman, 45, an idealistic immigrant from Kentucky who lives at Nitzana and is responsible for the development of new projects. “They need to learn about the importance of conservation when they are young.  We want them to be aware of the environmental repercussions of the products they use and the choices they make.”

Through interactive workshops, the students gain practical tips for everyday life. The importance of recycling is dramatically demonstrated at the recycling center, which shows what happens on the one hand to products that are recycled, and the harmful effects of tossing out batteries, metals and toxins on the other.  How the sun may be harnessed for alternative energy is explained at Nitzana’s state-of-the-art model solar park. Lastly, the importance of water conservation is discussed in a special outdoor classroom, which demonstrates and measures the amount of water used during everyday household activities. “Participants see for themselves why showering is so much more preferable to taking baths,” explains Kellerman.  “They learn useful tools for saving water at home.” 

Nitzana’s recycling center has been copied and replicated by other communities, both in the Negev and beyond.

“Nitzana was home to tribes of nomads more than two thousand years ago,” concludes David Palmach.  “It is fitting that a place which has so much history is playing such an important role in Israel’s future.”