As We've Discussed, Shit isn't Waste... That Goes for Us, too

I've written before that the Arava desert, in which Lotan is situated, is an “extremely arid” desert. Needless to say water is a highly valuable resource. Flushing water down the toilet bowl is a ridiculous thing to do in this environment and as a result areas of the kibbutz utilize composting toilets to reduce water consumption.

Composting toilets convert human waste into organic compost and usable soil. Generally speaking, people don't use "humanure" (yes, it's a ridiculous term but I assume the opportunity was too good to pass up) as fertilizer or soil on annual garden plants. Not only is there a fundamental "icky" factor, but there are some potential health concerns as well. Instead it is used on trees and flowers.

I have seen a handful of composting toilets in my day and not all of them have been pleasant experiences. The Lotan composting toileting experience, however, is a dream.

Check it out, here is the bathroom building from the outside:

One of the FOUR stalls:

A close up:

The sink:

I am totally impressed with these babies. There is no god-I-hope-it-doesn’t-smell anxiety before I enter, it is fun (a handful of straw into the pot after you do your thing does the trick), and it’s good for the environment! Hats off to Lotan for making composting toilets respectable.
-Katie

Note: I apologize for back-to-back postings discussing shit. I will avoid all things fecal in my next installment.

A Sample GA Lesson or Why Mike Probably Won't Be Hired as an Academic Professor (even though he should be)

Here is a lesson we can reasonably expect on any given day as a GA on Kibbutz Lotan:

Clearly we are going to learn about shit and then put the lesson into practice:

For those of you who are wondering what type of shit this is, it comes from the Kibbutz dairy. More specifically from:

And then from there, we will make "shit tea." Yes, "shit tea." Yum:
I thought I would be a little more specific about some of the pleasures I get to enjoy as a GA. For everyone who doesn't know, "shit tea" is an amazing fertilizer. It's so potent it usually needs to be diluted before it can be added to your garden.
-Katie

Hanging Out

After a long day of working in the garden and exploring neighboring Kibbutz Grofit, I relaxed by lounging on a dog:

(continued thanks to Marisa for making the "Bikesexuals" silkscreen - everywhere I go people want my shirt. Like hell I would give that shirt away...)

The next day, my friend Michal came down to visit for the weekend:

It was really fun to see her and to catch up on things, considering we haven't seen each other since 2001(!) there was plenty to share. Hopefully we'll get to see each other again when she (maybe) joins us for a trip to Sinai.
-Katie

Another Lotan Week

Wow. I’ve been doing some crazy rad things in the desert these days. Check it out:
Building Geodesic Domes

Sorting dates factory style

Eating arugula from my own personal garden (I don’t even like arugula, but I guess if you grow it yourself it tastes better because it really wasn’t that bad!)

Going on a beautiful hike (those are ibex in the distance)

I also managed to get 1. a piece of glass in and then out of my foot (why am I such a wreck?!) and 2. a haircut (can you tell from the pictures?).
In other news, the mosquitoes have emerged from their summer slumber and have begun to torture me. The one good thing about the desert was the lack of skeeters. Now I don’t even have that. Stupid desert.
Regardless, I am having a wonderful time.
-Katie

A Queer Break

I have been on Kibbutz Lotan (except for the journey to Eilat) since I arrived over three weeks ago. And while it is a wonderful place with wonderful people, it is itty bitty (150 people) and in the middle of nowhere (Arava Desert) and extremely arid (fewer than 30mm of rain a year). Needless to say, I had to leave. So I spent the weekend in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Sheer and I left together and we had a great time. We went to Jaffa:

watched a movie (with English subtitles), and wandered around appreciating the freedom. Sheer and I went our separate ways on Friday - she to Lotan and I stayed in Tel Aviv (and then Jerusalem) to get my queer on. I went to J-town to attend a queer street party. It was totally adorable:


About 25-30 people were there, we danced and hung out for about 2 hours. I mostly sat and watched because everything was in Hebrew... Maybe you all know this, but Jerusalem does not like the queers so much and everyone was happy that there was no violence from the police or the orthodox Jews. (Perhaps we can all agree that religious fundamentalism, ANY religious fundamentalism, is bad bad bad.) It made me appreciate the US a lot. Well, it made me appreciate Seattle at least.
After that, I went back to Tel Aviv, saw a drag king show, and then slept. The next day I returned to Lotan where I immediately recommenced sweating...

Andrew is legal. Oh shit.

Happy Birthday, kiddo.
I can't believe you're 18.
It's ridiculous.

Green Apprenticeship (GA) Education

Some of you have asked me about what I am learning in Israel. Here is a rough sketch of some of the topics we are discussing on Kibbutz Lotan.

-Natural Building: building structures (homes, benches, retaining walls, etc) out of mud, straw, tires, etc

-Permaculture: roughly defined as "the development of perennial agricultural systems that mimic the structure and interrelationships found in natural ecologies."

-Organic Gardening: growing plants without chemicals for soil, fertilizer, and pest control

-Healthy Living: including physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being (I know, I know, I'm ridiculous, but it's endearing, right? RIGHT?) consisting of Chi Kong stretching in the morning, Watzu lessons, among other topics. Here's the Watzu pool:

Those are the topics we've focused on thus far. I know we still have loads to learn. Oh! by the end of the program I will be a certified permaculture and ecovillage designer. Wow... So, if any of you have a garden, space, or ecovillage (bahahaha!) that you want help designing, just let me know.
-Katie