Rehov Ben Zvi 10 - Mandel Center 9th floor
Beer Sheva
Israel
- Environment/Sustainable development
BUSTAN cultivates sustainable models to promote fair allocation of clean public resources. BUSTAN strives to present sustainable and replicable models for a healthy paradigm of development that serves both Jewish and Arab populations by promoting stewardship in the face of strident political wars over ownership of public resources.
As a Jewish-Arab movement for fair resource allocation, we seek to transform the excess of unsustainable consumption patterns into resource access for marginalized populations. We connect citizens with cost-cutting green technologies in order to spark consciousness of the wider benefits of sustainable living. The experience of self-reliance in lieu of waiting for government assistance is often a first step towards catalyzing renewal and social change.
We will concentrate our work in the Bedouin sector in one village (Kasser El Sir) for the next couple of years. Our goal is to create, with our partners in the village, a sustainable, “green” model for community involvement and advancement, which respects and preserves Bedouin culture while acknowledging the reality of the modern state. Almost all of our projects (shatla tree planning, permaculture, organic gardening, etc) will continue there, as different elements of the larger project. By focusing in one village, we will be better able to measure the actual impact of our work. Our goal is no less than to create a new model for Bedouin communities to be able to flourish in the Negev. We have a terrific team set up in Kasser Al-Sir that is already working with residents to research and analyze the needs of the community. We expect to physically break ground on the new project in late summer or early fall, funding permitting.