[GSBN] nomination and update (and informal settlements, Israel-Palestine)

Wed Nov 14 21:19:46 UTC 2012

Dear Alex,

The is a remarkable building built in very challenging (and unjust)
circumstances serving a vital (and just) purpose.  Though constructed 9
years ago, I was not aware of this building, nor the plight of the Bedouin
people as described on the page in your link.  This is straw bale and
natural building at its highest service.

The webpage mentions how Israel is not the only country ³experiencing land
conflicts between formal communities and unplanned settlements².  I¹ve seen
it first hand in Haiti where the Œbidonvilles¹ densely pack the hillsides
surrounding Port-au-Prince, and the sprawling coastal areas near the port.
Squatter settlements exist throughout the world, from the well-known favelas
in Brazil to the countless settlements in Turkey, India, Kenya and many
other countries, especially in urban areas.  There is an excellent book on
this subject entitled Shadow Cities (R. Neuwirth).

These settlements occur on both public and private land and speak of age-old
disparities between the haves and have-nots, raising profound questions of
who has what, and why.  The settlements are also a remarkable testament to
the ingenuity, resourcefulness, and survival instincts of individuals,
families and communities.  In Haiti I¹ve seen informal settlements to be
some of the country¹s highest functioning communities.  Although
³unplanned², they have strengths of organic growth and necessary cooperation
from their residents.  At the same time they are often challenged by
insufficient resources and infrastructure.  And for all of the cooperation
that occurs, sometimes so does internal conflict, or external conflict from
land owners (understandable, but so is the act of squatting when society
leaves no other option).

This is a global problem that is deeply troubling but also inspiring, and
demands short and long-term solutions at many levels.  I think the kinds of
building solutions commonly discussed by this group are often well-suited
for use in informal settlement situations (as the Bustan Medwed Clinic
demonstrates). 

Returning from this important tangent, I¹d like to second Michal Vital (not
that it¹s necessary any more).  I was sorry I missed her presentation at the
ISBC, but I¹m happy to see her good work through the links Alex provided.

I also want to commend Alex for her handling of Tom Wooley¹s raising the
charged but exceedingly important issue of Palestine, Derek for his
concerned and constructive comments on the matter, and Tom for his
constructive rebuttal.

I began this response before I saw those e-mails.  I couldn¹t help but think
of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict when viewing the the Bustan Medwed
Clinic, and its description of conflicts of land ownership in that part of
Israel.  I thought about if and how I would bring it up.  As Derek said, we
are all doing constructive work and keeping charged or potentially devisive
issues out (or private) is a good idea.  But I wouldn¹t want to see us bury
our heads in the sand on a thorny issue that is relevant to what we do.  Not
saying this one is or isn¹t, just saying we shouldn¹t shy from difficult but
constructive discourse.

As I¹ve debated the Israeli-Palestinian issue over the years, with others
and within my own head, it¹s hard for me to know where to stop.  It goes to
what I questioned earlier about who has what, and why.  And not to exclude
myself from the question, one could easily ask, how is it that I in
California ³own² a piece of Native American land?  No easy answers.  Food
for thought.  Keep sharing and doing good work.

Martin

On 11/14/12 5:22 AM, "Alex Cicelsky (Kibbutz Lotan)" <alex at klotan.co.il>
wrote:

> Dear Balefolk,
>  
> Two weeks ago we had a convergence of the core group of Israeli straw bale
> builders and designers, earth and lime plasterers and educators.  While it¹s a
> challenge to share knowledge in a limited marketplace, there is a process of
> development from competition to cooperation and quality control.   We spoke a
> lot about connecting with colleagues who are experts - in particular in the
> area of lime plastering which is being reborn in this country where 2000+
> years ago everyone had a lime slaking pit in their backyard.  About 60 folk
> attended with an equal proportion of men and women. I assume you met Michal
> Vital at the ISBC. She presented an overview of your event and the tour.
>  
> I would like to take this opportunity to nominate Michal Vital [website
> http://www.vital-baron.com/   email mvital63 at gmail.com ] to the GSBN.  We
> first met working together on the Medwed-Bustan-Wadi El Naam Bedouin Clinic
> project http://openarchitecturenetwork.org/projects/391.  Since then she¹s
> become a prominent and highly regarded Green Architect in the country
> specializing in natural building, strawbale houses and energy efficiency
> design.  She works wonderfully with clients, engineers and builders.
> 
> One more item: four of our students have started their own natural building
> construction company specializing in strawbales.  The name of the company is
> Bottz  www.bottz.co.il <http://www.bottz.co.il>   which is Mud in Hebrew.  The
> website is in Hebrew (y¹all know how to use the Chrome translate option)  -
> the images speak for themselves.  Together with Bottz we have completed an
> earth plastered Œlight straw¹ fire test wall
> <http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=412523248808887&set=pb.121279601266588
> .-2207520000.1352894815&type=3&theater>  (photo http://on.fb.me/T30Fyi  before
> plastering.  For technical reasons they made blocks instead of the normative
> form-in-place method) and we're waiting for the Standards Institute of Israel
> to give us a date for the fire test, hopefully within two weeks.
>  
> B¹shalom, Alex
>  
> 
> Alex Cicelsky | Director of Research and Development
> Center for Creative Ecology <http://www.kibbutzlotan.com/creativeEcology>  |
> Kibbutz Lotan <http://www.kibbutzlotan.com/>  88855 Israel
> +972-54-979-9009 |  alex at klotan.co.il
> College, Training & Design Programs <http://www.kibbutzlotan.com/ga>  |
> Eco-Network <http://www.facebook.com/lotan.ga>  |  YouTube Channel
> <http://www.youtube.com/kibbutzlotan>  | Free EcoGuide App
> <http://www.tinyurl.com/ecoguideapp>  | BirdingIsrael
> <http://www.birdingisrael.com/>
> 
>  
>  
> 
> 
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