The Permaculture Center in Nahalal
About the Center
The culmination of the Yesh Meain project is in the Permaculture Center in Nahalal, an Eco-Agro-Educational Center intended to serve the sharing of information on abundance awareness, consumption regulation and environmental sympathy; elements of sustainability that are expressed in each of the elements of "Yesh Meain". The Center will play future host to our exchange market and to a diversity of sustainability and environmental workshops, lectures, and tours.
The Center Building (a.k.a. HaConstructzia)
The Center building was originally used as a main seedhouse for the production of exotic cut-flowers for export. It has a strong metal framework that was designed to hold glass. Renovation of the Center building began in Spring 2007 with the clearing of wild plant overgrowth. In Winter 2007, an eco-roof made from recycled paper and tar was installed, a product of generous co-operation with Shlomo Gal who is the Israeli importer of Ondoline building manufactures: www.s-gal.co.il. The Center building, an ecological building whose walls are to be built from strawbales using mud plaster, is currently in its design phase and will begin construction in Summer 2008. See photographs of the Center's building renovation and construction here.
Aside to the Center is an outdoor natural building/mudwork area that currently includes the strawbale/adobe structure for our shower/compost toilet construction. It serves as an area for our natural building projects and mud workshops.
Partners
Since the establishment of the Center, we are in co-operation with agronomist Shay Shachal who is sharing his knowledge and experience with us.
Programs
In the meanwhile, we are opening the house and garden as our temporary host home for the Center's programs. The Center's upcoming workshops, lectures, and tours are listed on our workshops&courses page (Hebrew) . Programs are led in Hebrew. To sign up, write to Merav at merav@carmi.org.il or telephone at 054-440-1918.
In January 2008, we officially published the program for our first
Permaculture Certification course which started in May 2008. The
next Permaculture Certification course will begin in August 2008. It is currently full but check back soon for dates for open course.