One Day
The concept of OneDay is that people can volunteer when they want, with whom they want, and how they want. Every month a schedule is publicized of various volunteering opportunities throughout the country, ranging from helping the elderly, children, animals, people with special needs and needy families. Each activity usually lasts just a few hours and is a one-off event without any prior or further commitment needed. All budding volunteers need to do is choose an event that suits them in terms of location, style and timeframe, sign-up online, show up and start volunteering, all while getting to know other young professionals and students in a social atmosphere.
(odsv.org)
The Shabbat Initiative
© PR
It’s no secret that within the Israeli-Jewish society there is a certain amount of tension, particularly between the religious and the secular. With shrimps galore and Friday nights as the ideal time to hit the town, Tel Avivians are as secular as they come. Uri Bollag is set to solve this tension within the White City, through his latest venture: The Shabbat Initiative. The social project aims to bring religious and secular Tel Avivians together to promote dialogue, coexistence and appreciation for one another, through Friday night dinner. Religious households are encouraged to invite their peers to their table, so they can share the intimacy and authenticity of the Shabbat meal. “Secular peers are heartened to take advantage of this opportunity for all kinds of reasons,” explains Uri, “whether to explore traditions, to meet new people or just to enjoy a device-and-internet-free dinner.” Sounds pretty good to us.
Kibbutz Lotan
What began as a small organic garden in the desert has blossomed into a full-fledged educational center for all things ecology. Programs at the Lotan Center for Creative Ecology include the Green Apprenticeship, which teaches alternative, eco-friendly solutions to food production (such as growing organic veg from scratch) and construction using mud, tires and trash. The center also offers a four-month course called Peace, Justice and the Environment, working alongside Palestinian, Bedouin and Jewish-Israeli peace-seekers, putting eco issues into a political and cultural context.
Arava Desert (1800 200075/kibbutzlotan.com)
WWOOF
wwoof.org.il
‘Willing Workers on Organic Farms’, known worldwide as “WWOOF,” offers an alternative Israeli experience. WWOOFing is a worldwide phenomenon, a popular way for intrepid tourists or travellers on a budget to enhance their wanderlust experiences. It entails volunteering for several hours a day, five days a week, in return for free food and board. Opportunities tend to involve farming, animal care or food production, often physically demanding work taking place in the great outdoors. For those seeking to experience the kibbutz dream, this, right now, is as close as it gets: a hands-on rural education by some of Israel’s finest farmers. Opportunities include reconstructing the ancient wine industry of the Negev, whose last heyday occurred 1,500 years ago, building ecological alternatives to urban spaces and tending to medicinal plants. WWOOFing in Israel is particularly special because of its diverse scenery and hosts offer a glimpse into a world that is often difficult to access; outside of the city, working closely with the land.
City Tree
The City Tree center in Tel Aviv aims to inspire anyone interested in developing a more environmentally conscious lifestyle by demonstrating some innovative green alternatives. The center, based in the home of eco warrior Tami Zori, dishes out practical advice to the budding urban ecologist via a range of workshops in everything from nutrition and composting to aromatherapy, making your own paint and even the chance to get on first-name terms with one of the world’s most nutritious microalga, spirulina by learning how to grow the supplement at home.
Floor two-and-a-half, 25 Bialik St, Tel Aviv (03-5254196/growspirulina@
Desert Ashram
Free your mind and the rest will follow… A mecca for meditators, the Desert Ashram offers a range of spiritual and theraputic workshops. From renowned meditation therapists hosting weekend retreats to courses centering on the breathing technique of rebirthing, which aims to open the mind to new, positive ways of thinking, Desert Ashram welcomes the local and international spiritual community to their peaceful place admist the desert dunes. The varied, enlightening workshops give visitors space away from the every day grind, allowing the chance to ponder big questions like ‘what do I really want to do with my life and how can I achieve it?’
Shittim, Negev Desert (08-6326508/desertashram.co.il