It’s still winter in Israel but you wouldn’t be able to tell, with 90 degree days and me already having a beach weekend under my belt. I’m in my third week at Yesh Meain, the permaculture ecological center near Haifa. My days are filled with a variety of activities, my favorite being my daily snacking on passion fruit from the vine outside the salon. As for my schedule here, we start our mornings at 8am with a meeting to discuss the current projects. Sometimes participating in these projects means I plant a new bed of seedlings in some sort of permaculture design or companion planting, or bake sourdough bread for the community, or learn some new ecological component. Today it was making summer seed balls (little clay balls filled with seeds that can be planted or used in guerrilla gardening) to sell at this Saturday’s exchange market. Yesh Meain is wonderful magical place designed of cobb buildings, compost toilets, grey water collection systems, and bountiful gardens. It’s not a very big farm as it’s situated on one parcel of land in a moshav called Nahalal but there is so much going on, from the monthly exchange market, as mentioned before, to educational workshops, and school tours. But it’s not just and educational center, it’s also an intentional community.
From our morning meeting we choose our daily tasks. Our schedules are very flexible here as the motto of the farm encompasses “sustainability”. This motto not only embodies ecological functions but also a personal sustainable environment. Everyone puts in the amount of work they feel like putting in each day. If I need a break, a snack, a nap..I take one. Whenever I feel like it. This may seem like a surprising method to live by as the general assumption would be that people would take advantage of such freedoms but some how everyone knows their responsibilities and there is trust in a community like this that says, "if I can’t accomplish my task someone will take up my slack, and I will do the same for them”. Currently there are four volunteers including myself plus four permanent volunteers living and working here. It’s actually a small amount of people compared to what Yesh Meain has held in the past. But it is slower days here because of winter and Merav (the owner of the land/center) is pregnant and getting ready to deliver soon. This “sustainable” lifestyle, without stress and with such a supportive environment has been such a healthy place for me.
Another exciting thing going on in my life is that I’ve been working very hard on becoming a certified holistic health coach. I’m halfway through my course work, which means I am now able to see clients. I’ve been learning such powerful ideas about food and lifestyle choices and how they affect our nutrition and health. We are all biologically individualistic which means there is not just one answer, one diet, one lifestyle, that is right for everyone. It takes investigation and exploration to discover what works best for each person. But with just a couple improvements in our daily choices dramatic changes can occur. So if you are interested or know anybody that could use some help in improving their health I’m giving free consultations while I’m currently still in school…so let me know!
