by Basma Hassan | Mar 9, 2023 | Uncategorized
After the groundbreaking ceremony on the 1st of April 2022 we are delighted that school life has now found its way onto the Sekem El Wahat Farm. With 52 children of six different ages, being educated in the six classrooms it has been enlivened for some time now.
Here the children enjoy a pleasant room climate which is created by the natural and environmentally friendly construction method with the raw materials clay, wood and stone. The rooms offer space for a class size of 24 students.
Stepping out of one of the classrooms, one looks across green grass and newly planted trees to a building that offers space for offices and staff rooms, craft rooms and events.
A little further on, two kindergartens are being built. Five children are the first to look forward to a day with Manal in the morning.
On the other side are the foundation walls of three more classrooms, which will be structurally completed and furnished for the beginning of the next school year.
Our next steps for the first half of 2023 are as follows:
-> Completion of the three further classrooms (doors and windows for 58,000 LE, the roof for
160,000 LE and furnishing for 135,000 LE)
-> Window glass in the main building and kindergarten (10,800 LE)
-> Kitchen equipment and furnishing kindergarten (46,000 LE)
-> Completion of waste water treatment (35,900 LE)
-> Shade roofs main building and kindergarten (120,000 LE)
-> Hot water treatment (35,000 LE)
-> Fly protection doors (9,000 LE)
So in total we are planning to invest another 609,700 LE ≈18,704 €
by Basma Hassan | Jul 27, 2022 | Uncategorized
Since the establishment of healthy ecosystems is seen by SEKEM as a way to reduce the climate issue, biodiverse ecosystems play a crucial role in controlling the earth’s climate. Therefore, SEKEM is creating a scorecard that does not only consider the issue of the number of species in order to assess the effect of SEKEM’s operations on biodiversity, but also we gauging our success by the amount of sustainably managed and reclaimed land, the number of trees planted, the quality of the soil, the amount of water used, the variety of species represented, and the amount of chemical contamination.
Our farm in Wahat Bahariya is a motivating illustration of how the desert can be turned into green, productive land. Wahat Farm, where land cultivation and biodiversity preservation were balanced, became a haven for numerous birds and insects.
Along with the primary agricultural activity at the Greening the Desert project in Wahat, SEKEM offers an additional environmental service by issuing carbon credits. In order to expand the scope of carbon credits beyond simple emission reduction, SEKEM intends to articulate and include biodiversity’s co benefits into the Economy of Love carbon credit program. This can make it easier to interact with ethical businesses that aim to improve the fertility of the soil, increase wildlife habitat, and diversify the desert landscape in addition to offsetting their emissions.
Commonland visits El-Wahat
In order to implement the 4 Returns Framework, a useful sustainable development tool for system change that connects ecology, community values, culture, and long-term economic sustainability and enables all stakeholders to contribute their vision of a resilient landscape, on the ground, our friends from Commonland visited SEKEM Desert Farm in Wahat in June. The original idea was to implement this structure on the scale of the entire Wahat Bahreya, but Willem Ferwerda (founder and CEO of Commonland) decided to provide SEKEM with the opportunity to do so. At the Social Innovative Forum, which will be held in Wahat in October, all stakeholders, including representatives from the government, business, and local communities, could come together and co-create a perfect vision for Wahat. This ambitious and, needless to say, difficult idea is planned to be discussed in detail at that event.
by Basma Hassan | Jun 30, 2021 | Updates
Renewable Energies in Wahat
On our desert farm in Wahat El-Bahareyya, we are currently reclaiming several hundreds of hectares of desert land through sustainable agriculture and supported by a crowdfunding campaign. Here is the latest update.
We have successfully installed 6 pivot-watering systems in total. Now, we are proud to announce that these pivots are fully driven by renewable energy. In addition, four old wells are now running on Photovoltaic energy.
Our long-term target is to increase capacity to 2 Megawatts of power provided by renewable energy, after achieving 1 Megawatt in May 2021.
The cultural heart of Wahat Farm
As SEKEM is convinced that one’s potential evolves with the inclusion of arts and culture, we are glad to announce that the opening of the Amphitheater Ibrahim Abouleish was in May. This theater plays an important part in the cultural life at the SEKEM-Wahat farm. The performances include traditional music and storytelling from the local area of the Bahareya oasis as well as contributions from guest artists coming from Cairo or other parts of Egypt. On the stage, also our community members do various shows and explore their artistic side.
Read more on the cultural activities at the Wahat-Farm
Join our Project!
by Basma Hassan | Dec 22, 2020 | Uncategorized
6 pivots in total are installed
Thanks to our valuable supporters, we were able to install the 3rd pivot watering system of the second phase, to reclaim additional 21 hectares of Egyptian desert land. So far we have a variety of crops: Chamomile, Cotton, Lemongrass, Marjoram and Garlic. And there is even more to come!
The Desert community is getting bigger.. And younger!
SEKEM Wahat is now home to 2 new families. Walid Gaber, an engineer, and Mohamed Hassan, a chef; both brought their families to build the SEKEM Wahat community.
6 beautiful children are now living happily in SEKEM Wahat. Additionally, 3 of SEKEM School’ talented teachers have also settled in to help establish SEKEM Wahat School and teach their new pupils.
Community-Based learning (CBL)
The desert has become full of life! Recently around 80 students from Heliopolis University joined SEKEM Wahat to implement community-based learning. Organic agriculture students planted 400 trees of Jojoba, 500 Casuarina trees, and 100 Mango trees. The Physical Therapy students screened the 80 co-workers and introduced to them good body postures to improve the health and well being of the workers.
There is much more to come!
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by Basma Hassan | Sep 8, 2020 | Uncategorized
53% of the second phase acheived
Thanks to the great support of many people from all over the globe, we were able to install two more pivots and reclaimed additional 42 hectares of desert land. The newly restored land is already used to cultivate lemongrass, marjoram,spearmint, and peanuts. The first harvest is coming soon – so stay tuned.
We still have 188,000 Euro to raise,1 more pivot to install, and 21 hectare of desert land to reclaim.
Looking after the people – Daniela our new community member
Since the digging of the first well at the SEKEM-Wahat farm, looking after the people and their wellbeing was a top priority. So with the first worker on sight, we thought of how to provide essential healthcare. We sought out doctors and nurses from the surrounding areas for regular checks. Now we are happy to have our full time resident Daniela, who is overseeing the establishment of SEKEM-Wahat basic medical center. Daniela is not only offering essential medical care to the workers, but also promoting a healthy nutrition concept and taking care of an integral health approach.
Let the youth plan our future
We are currently in the process of establishment our onsite “Desert Research Center” in SEKEM-Wahat. With such a vibrant learning center, we are not only a “demonstration site” for ecological and biodiversity activities but we are also engaging students from our partner, the Heliopolis University of Sustainable Development, in real community based learning activities. They have the chance now to be involved in organic agriculture, sustainable energy or medicinal plants research and field study.
https://www.hu.edu.eg
We are also partner with
https://www.devilag.eu
There is so much more to come
We are very greatful for your support!
