Karen - Nepal, Egypt and Italy

From the Himalayan mountains of Nepal to the sands of Egypt, it continues to be an amazing journey even now. One of the things that stands out for me is the special meetings with all kinds of people, who all care about our world and its problems, all working in various ways to conserve resources and the environment. It's a real privilege to see the faces of listeners as we retell stories about other people and countries; problems and solutions. It's a real comfort to them to know other people are facing similar problems and finding solutions.

I also see it firing the imagination of our girls, the next generation, so I feel grateful for that and hope for the future ..How much more powerful a documentary would be with each person interviewed, reinforcing each other in so many countries and different languages. It's very exciting to be a part of. Gavin is doing a great job of linking people together for mutual support by simply listening, recording and sharing peoples stories about their local environments.

I had an amazing experience in Nepal and then slept in the loud silence of the desert, outside under the stars for the first time. I got up before sunrise to take photos and was mesmerised by the changes of light on the shapes of rocks in the White Desert and the horizon. Now we are in greenery like New Zealand again, in Umbria, Italy ... still with climatic problems and making positive connections.

Lena - Egypt & Italy

Egypt was interesting. It was the one country where none of us had any idea what to expect there. We went and saw the Pyramids and for me it wasn't all that it's cracked up to be, personally I didn't see what the big deal was. But it was mind blowing to think that they accomplished such amazing architecture that long ago and that it lasted for so long.

Going to Bahariya Oasis was really worthwhile, we connected with some really nice people who were doing good things with the environment. Staying one night in the desert was also interesting, though I kept on expecting to see the sea over the next hill because of the sand. Ha! And after vowing never to spend another night sleeping on sand, here I found myself sleeping on the sand yet again. I had a pretty good sleep though. I know I shouldn't but nothing compares to staying on the beach in New Zealand, not even the desert.

At Sekem we also did some really good interviews. The teacher that we interviewed said that at home his children each have a special role to play. One is the Minister for Electricity and has to make sure that lights that aren't being used are switched off and the other is the Minister for Water and makes sure that everyone uses the water ecologically. I thought it was such a cool way to educate children in a way that is fun and interesting for them.

Well after 3 ½ months our whole family is all back together. Emma came and met us in Milan. It was kind of weird at first because we had been apart for so long and so much has happened in that time, but now it's all good. In Rome we got to go see the Colosseum for free because it was cultural week, that was awesome. It might just have been because there were so many people there at the time, but it was smaller than I imagined, maybe because it's a ruin; it would have been magnificent when it had just been finished. We also stumbled across the place where Julius Caesar was cremated. Rome has so many layers; all the different people who have lived there left a mark, and in places like the Colosseum, you can feel it is just so old. I know now what people mean when they say that New Zealand is still a young country in comparison.

Right now we are staying in lovely little place looking over a valley in the region of Umbria. For the first time since we left NZ we get to cook our own meals and are staying in a homely place. It's been so good just to relax as well even though we've gone out almost every day to explore around the area.

Alice - Egypt and Italy

In Egypt we had a pretty good experience. One was going to see the Pyramids which was nice for me since I did a project on them ... what I didn't like though was people asking for money all the time.

The second one was going to Sekem which I liked as well because it was amazing to think they actually built a whole school out there and to know what good they were doing. And thirdly was going out to the desert which I enjoyed a lot ... for one thing that picture that Dad took of me with the planet Venus resting on my hand and to think Dad spontaneously took it without knowing it was there is pretty awesome. And I enjoyed sleeping under the stars for the the first time with sand underneath me!!

Getting to Milan was exciting because I couldn't wait to see Emma again after 3 ½ months of not seeing each other. It was fun in Milano walking around and stuff. One of the things I am really enjoying is learning about the Renaissance and seeing some of the things Leonardo da Vinci created in all his work.

Then in Rome it was great because we got to see the Colosseum and some of the old ruins that have been there for centuries. Anyway, after Rome we got our rental car which is great and drove to where we are now which is in a lovely valley in the countryside and there's a swimming pool, haha, and it's awesome.

Egyptian Photo Album

Egypt

Egypt 14 May 2007

Before coming to Egypt we had no fixed plan. My principal contact was with Sekem. Before leaving New Zealand I thought perhaps we might spend some time in different parts of the Nile River and Delta. The Nile River is the life blood of Egypt, supporting the vast majority of the population. Instead, after visiting Sekem, I was compelled to travel into the Western Desert.

We spent 4 days and 3 nights in the desert. With our relatively limited time we only traveled to Bahariya Oasis, the closest of the oases to Cairo ... 360km and a 4 ½ hour drive. People at Sekem assisted by providing names of two people to visit. Being in the deserts of Egypt was such a powerful contrast to the mountains of Nepal ... but in some way there was also a connection, in the grandeur of the landscape and power of nature that both places conveyed.

At Bahariya Oasis we first met Ahmed Shawky and Corien Elstgeest from Elysium (see www.elysium.nu). Corien is from the Netherlands and moved to Bahariya 10 years ago. She is there is on a mission, working together with Ahmed and her partners in the Netherlands.

Ahmed Shawky and Corien Elstgeest, working together with a future vision for Bahariya Oasis.

A view of Elysium where Ahmed, Corien and others are working to realise their vision.
We were very grateful to meet these people who provided a welcome home for us in between our various activities and very kindly took us around Bahariya one afternoon.

Lena and Alice, enjoying some true relaxation time for one of the first times in the last 3 months.
Elysium is a relatively small initiative at present, but with a clear vision. They have developed a retreat where people can come and stay and experience the quiet and power of the desert environment. They also have aims to develop an educational and training facility to help develop sustainable future pathways for people living in the desert.

Another view of Elysium.
Life in the desert can't exist without water. At Bahariya Oasis we learned that there has been relatively little rain in the last 20 years, insufficient to recharge the groundwater that everyone relies on. At the same time there has been increased development and demand for water. In many places people are using pumps where they weren't needed in the past. People are digging deeper to get their water.

Ten years ago water was running freely from this well at Bahariya, as it had been for a long time before. Now this well is dry and has been replaced nearby by a much deeper well with a pumping station.
We also met We also met Mr Mohamed Rafaat, from Mendisha village, the son of ......... who have supplied Sekem with dates for the last 16 years. As he said, the desert is their home, it is their life. But everything they have depends on water. There is a very delicate balance here and evidence that it has tipped towards a situation of future water crises. In our short time with Ahmed and Corien we talked about the importance of acting now for the future and working to engage the community. This was a very good exchange, adding to our stories from different places, but also an opportunity to share ideas and encourage them in their work.

Views of one of the villages that comprise Bahariya Oasis.

Date palms are the main agricultural product from Bahariya.
On Saturday, our third day, we drove out from Bahariya to spend a night camping in the desert. We stopped in the Black Desert, where I climbed a peak to view an amazing scene of extinct volcanoes.

The Black Desert
Then on to a small oasis where we had lunch and a rest in the midday heat.

On the edge of the Black Desert, here your understand the true power and importance of water to life.

A modern 'mummy'!
In mid afternoon we drove on to a place called Crystal Mountain and then to the White Desert, where we set up camp for the night. Stunning, silent, beautiful starlit night. Marred slightly by obvious signs of human presence... plastic bottles thoughtlessly left in the desert sand... but a great experience to sleep in the desert under the stars. It was hard next day, driving back to Bahariya and then to the noise and pollution of Cairo.

How much do we care, with signs of our rubbish left everywhere?

Sunset in the White Desert.

A desert star!

A simple camp for sleeping under the stars.
In the end our time in Egypt seemed too short. There is a lot more that we need to know about changes happening in the desert, as much as in the mountains, with our rivers, our forests.

The greatest reward is the increased power we feel in sharing stories from other places and encouraging the people we meet to keep doing the good things they are engaged in. Making them aware that there are others in other places doing similar work is very rewarding.

Eygpt 9 May 2007

We arrived in Egypt last Thursday and discovered that the next two days were the Egyptian weekend. So we spent time getting orientated on Thursday, took a taxi and walked around Islamic Cairo on Friday and visited the Pyramids on Saturday.

Scenes from Islamic Cairo

On Sunday morning we went to the Sekem (www.sekem.com) complex on the edge of Cairo. They are developing a University on this site. Here I met with Dr Zakaria El-Haddad, Professor of Agricultural Engineering and Executive Manager of the Egyptian Bio Dynamic Association. This was a very good meeting, with Dr El- Haddad recommending that I go to the Western Desert to meet some people there. While I was in this meeting Karen and the girls went to the Sekem shop and bought some very delicious, fresh, organic milk. The first real milk we had drunk in about 12 weeks, and a very welcome treat.

On Monday and Tuesday we went out to the Sekem farm. We arrived at 10.00am and went straight to a group of senior students and staff from the Sekem school. I gave a presentation on climate change and adaptation, including sharing some of the stories and lessons from our journey so far. Later in the day Angela, our principal host, suggested that we be at the main entrance to Sekem just before 5pm. She told us to imagine this place as desert, which is was 30 years ago and to reflect on the transformation. What was 70ha of desert has been transformed to an environment with trees, fields, a school, and several Sekem factories. In all there are about 1600 people who pass through the Sekem gates each day, students, teaching staff, Sekem factory workers. It is a remarkable transformation and clear proof of what human beings are capable of with clear vision and a strong will to turn the vision into reality.

Below: Scenes from Sekem showing the remarkable transformation of desert land to an environment that supports an abundance of life and positive human activity.

Here at Sekem I was talking to people who are already thinking and acting with a long-term future in mind. On Tuesday we filmed interviews with Angela and Gamal, both of whom have been at Sekem for about 20 years. These were both very good interviews that in many ways drew together different threads from the last 12 weeks. The clear lesson from Sekem is that we don't need crisis to change. Human beings have abundant capacity to develop positive, strong relationships with the natural environment. The choice is ours.

Below: Interviews with Angela and Gamal at Sekem provided a very strong and positive 'bringing together' of important threads from our journey so far.

In Cairo

(from an email to Emma and Michael)

It's good to be here.... adjusting to a totally new environment, but we're liking it.

Last night we met one of my contacts... we went to this very "hip" place by the Nile river, under this huge sort-of Bedouin tent, wind blowing through, lights of Cairo around us, near full moon rising, lots of people smoking "hubble & bubble" pipes.... and some of the best food we've had in weeks.

Salim is coming back today, which is like Sunday here, and we're going into old Cairo with him to look around. Tomorrow we're meeting more people, Sunday probably to see the Pyramids of Giza, and then out to Sekem on Monday, probably Tuesday as well.

There'll be more meetings, including giving a talk to senior school students, and later on Sekem staff, on Monday.

In Cario

The tavellers have arrived safely in Cairo.