Looking Deep Into Our Own Truth Windows
I had never heard the term “truth window” until I took a group of students on an ecology club trip to Kibbutz Lotan recently. Our journey to Kibbutz Lotan, located in the desert just north of city of Eilat in Israel, was to engage students in activities that would help shed light on sustainability and a number of other important areas related to our ecology and our continued life on this planet. Students would learn about the other three “r’s”: recycling, reusing, and reducing. They would also learn about alternative building methods and participate in a workshop where they would construct incredibly strong and useable bricks from the surrounding desert earth. They would walk in the desert through two wadis up a rocky stream bed and later on learn about a number of organic gardening techniques that work even in this harsh environment. My students would clear an area of earth making it suitable for planting and get their hands a little dirty while adding some plants to this newly tilled and composted earth. And they would learn about some of the major issues that face our earth today. Controversial issues surrounded by numbers and facts imbued with the very difficult possibility that all of us may need to relinquish, to some degree, the lifestyle that we have so become accustomed to these days. Yet, it was both the literal representation of the truth window and its figurative counterpart that caught my attention. For you see, a truth window is what is beneath and in some cases, behind, the surface. A truth window reveals what most of us neither see, nor even knows exists.
On our journey south to the desert we stopped by my very good friend’s chocolate shop in high desert town of Mitzpe Ramon. He graciously welcomed us into his home which sits directly behind his store. There, students listened to a brief lecture about the art of chocolate making. They sampled some of the raw chocolate that he uses in his products and were also served perhaps the most scrumptious hot chocolate even this ex-cross country skier and seeker of après delights had ever encountered. From here we made our way down the Crater and drove over to the Southern Arava Desert and Kibbutz Lotan. Upon arrival, we were greeted by our guide who would facilitate the learning of our students over the next three days.
We started off the learning experience discussing the nature of the kibbutz and how people in such a setting live. As this was a religious kibbutz and part of the Reform movement, much of the daily life is intertwined with elements of religious observance and ideology. From a governmental standpoint, students learned about the concept of direct democracy and how all decisions on the kibbutz came out of such a process.
It was during our first talk, our first session, that we learned about the truth window. For you see, it was there already, staring us in the face, and we almost did not even notice it. The people on Kibbutz Lotan view garbage as a resource. Though they did not start out as an “eco community” they have over the years strived to become one. They found that 97 percent of their garbage was going to landfills and in such a small country like Israel, there is surely only limited space for our abundant waste. Thus they needed to, and continue to need, to find ways to implement the three r’s. Embedded in the wall, behind a piece of clear plastic, were bottles and other detritus that had been included in the building of this enclosure where our first talk took place. This was a literal truth window. At the base of the wall were old tires that had been included in the construction of the wall as well and lifted it from the ground. But Mark, our guide, made it clear that this example of recycling as important as it was, is not nearly as important as the concept of reducing which he feels is paramount to the health of our planet.
Our first day was rapidly coming to a close. Our students toured their Eco Park and viewed this hands on area that is part playground and part educational facility where workshops are carried out. They quickly saw the organic gardens and compost piles and had a short tour of the farming area where young calves were tethered and beckoning us over with their sweet cries. Later in the evening, we were invited to attend the Kabbalat Shabbat services on the kibbutz. This was not mandatory for our students, but all opted to attend. We were welcomed in like family, and I was so impressed with our students who participated in these services with such respect. After a dinner in the communal cafeteria, there was folk dancing and a game of soccer with a group of American students who were visiting this kibbutz as well.
We got up fairly early the next morning, ate and then went for a walk in the desert. The walk would last for several hours and though relatively easy in nature, provided our students with a glimpse of the present and a window to the past. Right off the bat, our guide on this trip insisted that the direction of the wind as it was, suggested that before the end of the day we would have a sandstorm. This would prove to be correct. As we discovered on this hike, he had a great understanding of the desert and conveyed to us information on a wide range of topics. Understanding time in a geologic sense makes us, the human species, realize how little time we have actually traversed this earth. The millions of years it took for the continents to split from their elemental form referred to as Pangaea, into what we know today, is mind boggling. Understanding that much of Israel and the area in the Middle East was once quite different than it is today, and that great swaths were buried beneath the sea, is substantiated by geological indicators and fossil remains that can be found in the area where we were walking. But it is the talk of the future, the piecing together of elements from the past and theoretically applying them to events that may occur, which is where the controversy perhaps begins. Here is where I come back to the truth window. In reality we can’t see inside buildings. We can’t see the future. We are bombarded by a myriad of truths each day and being able to sift through the pieces in a manner that will lead us safely into the future is fodder for political and ethical debate. We see on a daily basis academia bickering amongst themselves about issues such as global warming, and have no idea whose truth is the truth. Yet doing nothing, not taking a stand and striving to improve our world and minimizing our impact on both our organic and inorganic surroundings, is short-sighted and selfish.
The next part of our experience took place in an Eco Park located on the kibbutz. Students learned about the properties of earth and how combining the proper amounts of clay and sand with water, would yield a very useable brick that could be used for building and the paving of paths and roads. This is an ancient method of building and is used in many parts of the world today, though rarely in our western society. Yet it takes more than just bricks to build a structure. Our students learned how to create “green” structures and add various types of insulation needed for dwellings. We also discussed the concept of thermal mass and how important this is when building clay stoves. Students were shown a functioning model depicting these elements as well. From here, we learned a great deal about composting. A cut-away model was used to demonstrate the process that takes place when making this material. Layering organic waste, straw and adding water are needed to produce the fine compost which is rich in nutrients and replaces the nitrogen fertilizers we tend to use. As great as nitrogen fertilizers are, they pose health and sustainability issues that are now being recognized. Several students suggested that at the new school we are building in town of Even Yehuda, should have a small compost pile so that we can try this process ourselves.
After a short unannounced trip to the nearby kibbutz of Yodvata, which is known for its diary products and later a Kibbutz dinner, we attended an interactive workshop in which we first were taught about the current impact of man on our world and then given a chance in small groups to brainstorm both the issues and potential solutions to them. Though all of us were fatigued from the long day and the residual sugars of shakes and ice-cream, we engaged in a lively discussion of what can and should be done. Both students and adults were passionate in conveying the need for us to both recognize the current issues as well as the need to address them in a timely manner. Though we would have several more workshops on our final day and a lengthy return ride through yet another sandstorm, it was that discussion that defined this ecology workshop best to me. Our students want a safe world. They want to live in an environment that is healthy and clean. But like so many of us, they want their material comforts as well. On this trip, I brought along three sets of plugs to recharge batteries for my phone, camera, and a device I use to download images from my memory card. Our kids have Ipods, DVD players, and phones. Each day something “new” is coming out. These items are “must have” and are guaranteed to change our lives. When we arrived back at school, many students were picked up in truck sized SUV’s to take them back to their homes only several blocks away. We had talked about sustainability. Talked about the three r’s. We even discussed a different type of light bulb that is currently being sold that is supposed to reduce energy demands dramatically. But it is not the workshops. It is not the lectures and it is not the shock news reports that will dictate our actions. It is in the end run, the truth window that resides just under the surface in all of us that will make the difference. As an educator, I can only expose my students to the consequences of their lifestyle and hope that in some way we can get them to think about their own truth windows and not be afraid to share this content with their peers. Kibbutz Lotan, a Reform kibbutz in the Arava Desert, is attempting to educate us to meet the challenges which we must deal with and cannot ignore. Helping our youth to see the issues for what they are in the context of now, and giving them the knowledge and the tools needed to live in a way that is compatible to the long-term health of our planet, is a daunting task. Though I could end this piece on a positive note, I am reluctant to do so. We are in many ways more embroiled in the arguments of the day and focus on those things that are beyond our control. What my students learned is that you can be aware of the global issues, but that your main concern needs to be on your immediate surroundings where you can make the most difference. What is finally revealed by our personal truth windows, is the fragility of life and the need to protect what is most important-ourselves.
