This is a photo of a lovely mosaic detail of a bird in one of the five “hides” at the Lotan bird park, which is still under development.  The bird park is to contribute to the solution of the problem outlined in the last posting, about Eilat.  I wish them well with this valuable project.

For me, the pleasantest section of Kibbutz Lotan is the children’s play area, which seems to be completely successful, making its many young visitors happy, and expressing a quirky and appealing creativity.  Development of the park continues whenever a group of residents, students, or volunteers gets a bright idea and has some time free.

Throughout Lotan, exterior building elements such as walls, benches, or free-form sculptures have been made for years by stuffing waste plastic bottles, tin cans, and other materials into scrap tires.  These are stacked in roughly the form desired and then covered with bentonite and clay, sometimes with an undercoating of wire mesh.  The bentonite is waste material from government drilling projects in the area; early residents discovered that they could have truckloads of bentonite -- a useful water-repellent material -- for the asking.  This form of construction became a recognizable motif for the Kibbutz.

Many people come to Lotan to study this and other green ideas practiced there.  For me, the important point isn’t the specific technique, but the fact that builders found ways to use materials at hand.  You probably could not and should not try to use the same combination elsewhere, but using what others are throwing away saves resources and as at Lotan, can spark fun and originality.

I came to Lotan partly to see the straw bale structures there, which include a very nice new multi-purpose center of about 2000 sq ft, built with bales around a metal structure.  David Schoneveld, one of the main leaders of this project and Lotan’s licensed guide, is also a welder, so the metal framework was practical for the Kibbutz to undertake.  The creativity developed elsewhere in the recycled materials projects has been carried into the design of this more formal structure, and is very successful.

Straw bales were used at Lotan as projects got bigger, recycling programs meant that waste material disposal was less of a need, and public approvals were required for construction.  Kibbutz Lotan undertook a testing program as required by the Israeli national government.  They built a straw bale wall in the fire testing ovens, which performed well above the standard required.

Everything I’ve reported above is to be admired.  In addition, Lotan is a working communal kibbutz, and work they do.  There’s a large dairy herd, goats, communal meals to be prepared.  There’s a tremendous amount to be done, and inevitably some shoulder more of the load than others.  While I was there the group confirmed five more permanent members, an occasion for celebration.  Kibbutz Lotan is clearly a success.

I did feel some sense of stress at Lotan.  This may have been me -- I needed some down time and I took it.  I hope that was it, because the group is doing some really important work and they mount a major educational effort for many groups all during the year, both short and long term students and visitors.  My hat is off to Mike Kaplin and Leah Zigmund who are teachers and organizers for these student programs.

As a place to stay to study their work and communal living, I recommend Lotan.  However a word of caution is in order.  The accommodations were the same level as my hostel in Jerusalem -- perfectly nice but the pricing and the descriptions on the website had led me to expect an upgrade, which this really didn’t provide.  My first day at Lotan was marked by a series of significant snafus, none of which would have been that much of a problem individually, but as a series they were tough to overcome and I just withdrew for a day or so.  By the last day the problems had ended (thank you especially Mike for making me feel very welcome and Leah for arranging time with your students).  Yes, I do think you should visit Lotan, but with realistic expectations.  They’ve got a lot going on and you may have to find your own way, literally and emotionally.

I spent a lot of time at the lovely and charming oasis restaurant nearby, Ne’ot Semader, which I heartily recommend if you are in the area.