About "Yesh Meain" on
Moshav Nahalal
Merav Carmi, April
2007
Nahalal was established in 1921, basically by seven people in a tent. The whole area was a swamp, full of anopheles mosquitoes that cause fever leading to death. My great grandfather was one of the seven founders. He came from a family of 11 brothers and sisters who took part in establishing Yesod Hamala, Metola, Dganya, Benyamina and other moshavim. My grandma used to tell me how poor they were, wearing old clothes and sleeping on the floor in one room, and how it was surprising that they always had room for more visitors that came. They struggled every day to survive in order to make life different for the next generations. It was 30 years before the state of Israel was created. Just 86 years ago.
Nahalal was the first moshav in Israel designed as a circle in order to maintain equality among its members. The main idea was co-operation, self working and a supporting net of the members. The days started early in the fields, continued until sunset, and on Friday evenings everybody gathered around to dance together to release difficulties and to appreciate and celebrate life.
Time went by; new generations, new century. I was born
to the 4th generation - taking everything for granted.
Spoiled
with a great childhood but with no goal, no vision and no aim. It
took years and grand tours to acknowledge heaven outside my
door. Five years ago I came back to Nahalal, finding my parents' farm
neglected and sad, mourning my grandfather's death in all
aspects. My grandfather was a self-taught agronomist and
agriculture guide in Iran, Egypt, Japan, Ecuador and Europe. All his
knowledge came from nature itself, observation, patience and love.
Starting to recover my parents' farm, I used to meet him in
every corner, in every tool, structure and plant. Discovering his
order, I started putting things back to their places, separating
materials from piles of junk until I could wipe the floor like he did
at the end of every day.
After a year, I arrived to the wooden
shed that was built for him when he was 17 to have some privacy,
because in the 3-room family house lived 3 families. In this wooden
shed my grandfather and grandmother's love story had begun. There I
opened my store; in the beginning with my mom's baskets and other
things I've been collecting for a while. Objects from flea markets
made from good materials, with good shape, that I believed I was
passing to the next generations. The store has been developed over
time, but because it was a "my taste" store, regular
advertising didn't fit.
About a year after I opened the store, while having coffee, my friends and I shared the idea of how fun it was exchanging some clothes between us. While doing cleaning for Pesach, we thought to make a friends gathering to share what we don't need any more. But we were too busy and the idea was almost forgotten. I didn't realize it was a seed germinating in March 2005 to an experiment now called the Exchange Market in Nahalal.
When thinking about the market I always feel that I was just giving birth to it, not really knowing what I was doing, and getting reactions from people for being insane. Now after 2 years I can tell the market had changed my life. Every last Saturday of the month, hundreds of men, women and children, young and old, rich and poor, from different races and origins come to my place, having tea in the sun, going down to the fields, and celebrating all that exists; getting rid of what they don't need and taking what they need or feel like for free. Some take advantage of the opportunity and I take them aside and explain to them the price of doing it, explaining also that I can easily live without what they took from my store without paying and asking if they can afford them self not to pay.
It's a very intense day with a very intense day of preparation before, creating the email to the mailing list a week before and just a little more here and there...At the beginning I was doing it by myself, but as the market grew also the number of people that came to help was growing. It's important to understand the power of one, to make a difference, when there is a good will and a good cause.
While doing the Green Apprenticeship on Kibbutz Lotan, a new understanding was born, realizing the resources, the community around the market, the cycle of the occasion taking place every month. We started to send the market newsletter in Hebrew and English, and on the 2nd birthday of the market we invited people from the bio-region to sell and exchange what they are growing, creating and cooking; it was a great success and joy.
The wooden shed gave birth to the store who gave birth to the market who was giving birth to me and to our newborn permaculture farm called "Yesh Meayin," which means creation from nothing, a god-creation quality. As humans, we can only look up and pray to be helpful.