SEKEM‘s Journal for Economy, Culture, and Society in SEKEM Insight Nr. 80 - April 2009

Dear Readers, Projects Education Events Successful Closure of Community School Stuttgart Delegation after three years one of the 13-Villages-Project Provides Opportunities Visits SEKEM SEKEM’s biggest projects co- financed with its European partners has come to a suc- cessful end. The 13-Villages- SEKEM Successfully Concludes Project, as it was unofficially called, was closed by the end 13-Villages-Project of 2008. The extensive final report will reach its largest donor, the European Union, these days.

The report demonstrates how important the project has been for the people in SEKEM’s closest neighbour community, Gelfina, and its adjacent villages and ham- lets. Thousands of benefici- aries have benefited directly from the services and prod- ucts of the intervention and thousands will continue to profit from it in the future. This is because most of the activities will be continued thanks to the ongoing sup- port of the SEKEM Devel- opment Foundation and its Villagers - men and women - have been coming together in Community Development Associations to participate in German support associa- the development of their villages and hamlets for more than three years tion. By the end of 2008 the SEKEM of life and work of a part of Egypt’s Based on the final report this Development Foundation (SDF), rural population in lasting ways. issue of SEKEM Insight offers SEKEM’s non-profit association for Thanks to the ongoing support of you a review of some of the social and cultural development in its European partner organisations project’s final achievements. Egypt has completed one of its big- almost all of the activities carried It also demonstrates how gest projects ever: the three-year out in the framework of the project relevant its activities have 13-Villages-Project. The project is will be continued in the future. been for the development finally being concluded these days The project was situated in SEKEM’s of the SEKEM initiative. They when the last report is sent to the closest rural community, the village have increased SEKEM’s European Union, its major donor of Gelfina, and its 12 neighbouring global reputation as a part- together with SEKEM’s German sup- hamlets. Here the 13-Villages-Project ner in social development. port association. supported by SEKEM’s own social Your Editors Since 2006 the project has kicked workers initially began to organ- off numerous material, financial, ise group meetings of community and social development activities elders and villagers to raise aware- that have shaped the circumstances ness of the importance of central

Page 1 issues of their communities’ devel- affected the desperate economic mobile waste removal system avail- opment in sustainable ways. This situation of their families could also able to all 2.000 households of the included for instance consultancy positively influence a new compo- communities. It was planned to on personal hygiene and sani- nent of the project: families that allow them to regularly have their tary precautions, appropriate han- had to cover parts of their income solid wastes removed and trans- dling of domesticated animals, or through the work of their children ported to a designated site where the dumping of wastes carried out had to be specifically supported. they could be sorted and recy- by medically trained personnel and 100 of the children known as cled. Initially these sites had to be professional “outreach teams”. The “Chamomile Children” received the selected and technical facilities to SDF used local community spaces - chance to participate in a compre- be purchased that would then pro- schools, village mosques - for these hensive basic education programme vide the necessary means to sort meetings. More than a hundred of over the course of the project dura- and eventually hydraulically com- them took place over the course tion. It covered conventional school pact the collected waste that could of three years. Particular attention subjects such as mathematics and at not be recycled. Here, too, many was paid by the workers of the SDF’s the same time provided advanced villagers found work in the project Medical Centre to the situation of tuition in cultural, social, and artis- that is scheduled to remain availa- pregnant women before and right tic topics combined with practical ble after its closure. after childbirth. The specialists also exercise. Where necessary the chil- A 65-horsepower tractor and trailer provided consultancy on topics such dren could also participate in a lit- turned out to be an unusual but as sexual hygiene and female geni- eracy programme and a scheme appropriate solution to the chal- tal mutilation (FGM). To reach the dedicated to preventing diseases lenge. Until this day the tractor reg- women affected the medical teams and improving their general well- ularly picks up wastes and has even visited the villages and brought with being. They were examined by staff replaced the custom of manually them information material, often in from the SDF Medical Centre every collecting garbage by using donkey pictorial form to specifically address three months. carts. those who could not read or write. A literacy programme was also avail- The teams visited the villages once The SDF also built a small bio pre- able to the more than 600 women a month and also offered a compre- treatment plant for the treatment of the villagers who could not read hensive basic medical examination of liquid waste (used water) from or write. A class was created specifi- for disease prevention to many vil- the households. The plant allows cally for them in Belbeis in coopera- lagers. Over the course of several the treatment of moderately pol- tion with a local education provider. dozen sessions the programme has luted waters and recycles them for successfully reached approximately The project moreover achieved use in the irrigation of fields and vil- 8.800 inhabitants of the communi- results in expanding education lage gardens. This action has greatly ties. Additionally more than 3.400 opportunities for young Egyptians improved the availability of water pregnant women were regularly about to leave school and choose for agriculture and the embellish- examined at the SDF Medical Centre. vocations. Two new vocational train- ment of the villages themselves. ing tracks have been launched in The system that is already in use The programme also included the “Computer Maintenance and Repair” for solid waste removal was thus ongoing education schemes for 11 and “Professional Plumbing”. The refitted with a mobile tank and has new and seasoned midwives from curricula were developed during the turned out to be double effective. the area as well as of 17 social work- first year and more than 120 gradu- ers from various medical fields. The last component of the project ates have successfully completed Each of the two groups took part implemented a micro-finance the tracks to date. Remarkably, a in more than a dozen further edu- scheme available to all villagers with surprisingly large number of them cation sessions on topics of general a promising business idea. It also set were girls - also in the technical public health with a specific empha- out to improve the decision-mak- fields. sis of reproductive health issues. ing and planning structures on the In the areas of environmental pro- community level of rural improve- The comprehensive experience of tection and community devel- the SDF in the support extended opment an expert developed a to children still f r e q u e n t l y sustainable concept to implement a

Page 2 ment programmes developed by Associations (CDA’s). This way the turned out to be great successes. the inhabitants themselves. results achieved should also grow The SDF is already working on new sustainable roots. Seven rural com- proposals to make the results last In cooperation with Egyptian part- mittees could be installed that today such as new ways to improve the ners the SDF developed concepts serve as platforms for the planning water supply in the villages that are for the financing of small businesses. of local development initiatives. The particularly remote to public supply More than 220 loans could be dis- villagers can now take full owner- systems. bursed to applicants from a wide ship in the achievements of activ- variety of professions with more Bijan Kafi ities such as the waste removal than 1 Mio. Egyptian Pounds (ca. system. 125.000 €) disbursed as loans in Images on this page: Chamomile total - a great success also in light of Thanks to the excellent cooperation children during class; Women the near-optimal repayment rates. with the German support associa- taking part in a community tion and its future-oriented initia- meeting; loan recipients in the On the community level the SDF and tive during the planning phase of the micro-finance programme in its cooperation partners furthered their shops (master craftsman, project almost all activities the inauguration of local Community reseller of seeds, shoemaker); a D e v e l o p m e n t renovated community school. Preceding page from left to right: participants of a community meeting; female pupils during a vocational training class; biological water pre-treatment plant; loan recipient in her shop

SEKEM Helps Provide Carbon-Neutral Gas to Parts of

The Technische Werke Schussental (TWS), a German regional provider of energy with its headquarters in Ravensburg has begun to offer CO2-neutral gas with the help of SEKEM. Following the motto „Think glo- bal, act local“ the TWS pur- chases certified CO2-certificates from a climate protection pro- gramme launched by the initi- ative. The German supplier is responding to customer requests and has begun to offer the prod- uct “Oberschwabengas” (“Gas for Upper Swabia”) in a CO2-neutral form in the entire counties of Baden-Wuerttemberg and Bavaria. Even when producing envi- ronmentally friendly gas its production, transport, and com- bustion always necessarily pro- duce significant quantities of CO2. The greenhouse gas pollutes the atmosphere on a global scale regardless of where and through which means it is released into the air. Emissions that are essentially

Page 3 unavoidable can thus effectively be Abouleish’s birthday. The perform- Stuttgart Delegation avoided in any location on earth. ance kicked off the annual festival Visits SEKEM Initiative week that eventually ended on 26 To neutralise its emissions of green- March. house gas that is released during the On occasion of the 30th anniver- production of heat for households The fairy tale is one of the most sary of the twin cities of Cairo and and businesses TWS has begun to mysterious texts of the German Stuttgart a delegation of the- lat purchase certificates from a carbon poet and author that has given rise ter’s representatives consisting of reduction project carried out by the to plenty of interpretations. The more than 40 people visited Egypt SEKEM initiative. The project pro- new form of presentation at SEKEM in April. On 16 April the representa- duces high-quality compost out of involving a performance tives from the city’s administration, organic material and has been suc- demonstrated that an entirely new political life, the media, the church cessfully operational since 2007. approach to the work can be found council, and several other institu- Through this sophisticated process that encourages to experience its tions and agencies also visited the only a fraction of the gas that is nor- spirit through the “wisdom of sen- SEKEM initiative as one stop on mally released during production sual experience” rather than the their trip through multiple Egyptian is actually emitted. The emissions abstract nature of the mind. organisations. The delegation was avoided by the initiative are then While the poem was articulated by lead by chief mayor Dr. Wolfgang “converted” into carbon certificates a trained orator in Arabic the partic- Schuster. that comply with internationally ipants of SEKEM’s Eurythmy ensem- accepted standards set forth by the Over the past months the German ble, this time expanded by a team of convention on climate protection of SEKEM support association had eurythmy students from the School the United Nations (based on the intensified its relations with the of Arts of the Heliopolis Academy framework of the Kyoto Protocol). Stuttgart city administration. These visualised every gesture and fig- This way customers deciding to ben- activities had succeeded in incit- ure through physical representa- efit from the new product can now ing the city’s interest in the work tion. This resulted in a performance actively invest in climate protection. of SEKEM and eventually lead to its that transformed the stage into a TWS is already delivering the gas inclusion in the April journey. The site that powerfully merged the to the German counties of Baden- guests where welcomed to the main objective powers of man and the Wuerttemberg and Bavaria and farm by Dr. , his world supported by colourful cos- additional counties may be supplied wife, and Helmy Abouleish who had tumes and the music performed by on request. also organised a tour around the the chamber orchestra under the premises including the social and More information is available at leadership of conductor Bernhard cultural institutions. After a celebra- www.oberschwabengas.de. Sieberer. tion at the SEKEM School involving Christoph Graf, artistic coordina- demonstrations of daily class work Dr. Ibrahim Abouleish tor of the event, succeeded admi- performed by the pupils themselves Celebrates His Birthday rably in merging the power of the all participants came together in Arabic language with intercultural a final meeting that gave room for On 23 March Goethe’s fairy tale of connections in the global language posing questions and discussing the green snake and the beautiful of eurythmy. SEKEM’s idealistic concepts. The meeting that also allowed for criti- lily was performed at the Heliopolis Not only this performance was wit- cal inquiries incited praise from the Academy on occasion of Dr. Ibrahim nessed by more than 1.400 people. visitors for its successes over the Lots of smaller musical and recital past 30 years, and the open-minded performances enriched the experi- and humane atmosphere preva- ence. For the first time a circus was lent where SEKEM co-workers set to also invited. And even though the work. In concordance with the well- time scheduled for the events was known Egyptian hospitality no-one eventually exceed by more than was to leave without a conclusive an hour everyone in the audience bio-dynamic dinner. greeted the performances of the clowns, artists, and magicians with „Most participants in this delega- lasting applause. tion have got used to taking part in Daniel Baumgartner very different forms of cooperation & Regina Hanel in their daily work and life. To com- bine work with cultural and artistic The eurythmy ensemble of SEKEM performs forms of expression - particularly to Goethe‘s fairy tale of the snake and the beautiful lily the extent practiced in SEKEM - is

Page 4 frequently new to them. This lead to Austrian Support The foundation of the Regional astonishment in many. After a few Association Takes Centre of Expertise on Education days more and more questions were for Sustainable Development Cairo posed, even critical ones for instance the Initiative (RCE Cairo) was also substantially regarding the role of the Chamomile supported by the RCE Graz. The Children, or the conclusive weekly After meeting several of Europe’s support association thus wishes to circle.“, says Waltraud Bandel, a support associations for SEKEM extend its thanks specifically to Dr. participant and long-standing sup- in Germany, Switzerland, and the Hani Sewilam (Heliopolis Academy porter of SEKEM taking part in the Netherlands the two Austrians Ernst – International Affairs). His sup- journey as a representative of the Rose and Hermann Becke founded port has repeatedly reinvigorated German association. She used the their own Austrian support initiative the enthusiasm of the association’s opportunity to get in contact with with the help of Elisabeth Gergely, a members. many participants and answer ques- long-standing friend and supporter The Austrian association also finan- tions as they arose. „Many of the of SEKEM, in 2004. Until 2009 the cially supported an Austrian choir talks revealed, though, that after a group grew to 84 members and project that will take place in SEKEM while participants understood how more than 40 people interested in around Easter 2009. It also con- social change regarding its means following SEKEM’s progress through tinues to support SEKEM’s grad- sometimes has to leave the beaten reports and public events. uate Mohamed Ali Khater during tracks break new ground. Praise and „Sekem Austria“ intends to support his three-year studies to become a astonishment remained; construc- the SEKEM initiative through - net „Farm Administrator“ in Venezuela. tive criticism was voiced.“ worked collaboration of people and In his letter of thanks he writes: „I The visit to the initiative and the fol- institutions alike. That specifically will return with my diploma and I lowing dialogue have also intensi- includes awareness raising activi- will strive to make SEKEM the most fied plans to pursue collaborative ties and the involvement of youth to successful farm in the world.“ projects in the future and increase experience cultures between West Furthermore the website of SEKEM cooperation between the city of and East for themselves through Austria at www.sekemoesterreich. Stuttgart and the SEKEM initia- active participation. The board at could be relaunched in 2008. For tive. Common projects are already is comprised of Soleiman Ali, Ilse the coming years the association’s in the works, for instance an activ- Anderwald, Friedl and Hermann members are now looking forward ity aimed at the fostering of youth Becke, Ernst Rose and Gabi Spiegel. to a follow-up members conven- exchanges to allow young people to It is supported by a consultative tion for all European support asso- experience other cultures first hand committee that includes Elisabeth ciations in 2010 to continue the past and through pro-active participa- Gergely and Clemens Mader and success of the meetings in SEKEM in tion. others. The members meet every 6 2004 and in Graz in 2007, hopefully to 8 weeks. The SEKEM association welcomes again in SEKEM. its next opportunity to intensify Key developments in 2008 included Friedl Becke its links with Stuttgart when in the the search for an able personality to coming July on the occasion of the drive the professionalisation of the continuing anniversary celebrations section of musical arts at SEKEM and many of Stuttgart’s inhabitants shall the building of new networks includ- be involved in the festivities. The ing Austrian academic contacts. celebrations are expected to span Fortunately, both initiatives turned multiple days. out to be successful. The Tyrolean conductor and music instructor The association specifically thanks Bernhard Sieberer chose to take up Dr. Frederic Stephan for his support his work as the artistic director at during the organisation of the jour- Imprint: SEKEM in Autumn 2008 (see report ney that allowed all participants to Publisher: SEKEM, Egypt in SEKEM Insight). Additionally new The editorial team of SEKEM experience a new culture first hand Insight would like to thank institutional partnerships could be and that had as its goal the further- all correspondents who have launched with the Karl-Franzens- contributed to this edition. ing of new projects between the University Graz (research on medical Editors: two parties in the spirit of an equal Christina Boecker substances against high blood pres- partnership. A concrete and pro- Bijan Kafi sure and diabetes) and the Technical active step to furthering peace and Contact: University of Graz (University Chair SEKEM-Insight mutual understanding through indi- c/o Sekem Holding of Innovation). P.O.Box 2834 vidual engagement has been made. El Horreya, Heliopolis, Cairo, Egypt Christina Boecker

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