22 May... And then there were 5!

Just over a week ago, on 14 May, we arrived in Milan and next day Emma decided to join us, after three months at Origlio Steiner School near Lugano. It was wonderful to have her with us again. We are very grateful for Paolo and Iva who very kindly hosted us for 4 nights in Milan. It was a time for us to enjoy being a full family again, and to explore Milan a bit. Alice's class at Taikura Rudolf Steiner School has been studying mechanics and is soon to begin studying the Renaissance, focusing in part on the life and work of Leonardo da Vinci. So it seemed very appropriate to take her to the Leonardo da Vinci Museum of Science and Technology in Milan.

Alice in front of a scale model of an earth digger, created from drawings by Leonardo da Vinci.

On 18 May we all flew down to Rome, where we spent 3 nights and 2 days. For me this was another part of a personal journey that began in Egypt. My grandfather was in Egypt in WW1, and my father served in both Egypt and Italy in the latter part of WW2. Visiting the Colosseum and then the Palatine (the site of the main centre of historic Rome) brought back a very clear memory of my father talking about his time here. It was a place he had wanted to bring us all, a dream that he never realised in his life. This made it particularly memorable to be here with my family.

On Saturday (19 May) we decided to visit the Colosseum and to our very good fortune struck the tail end of a cultural week in Rome, which gave us free entry to both the Colosseum and Palatine. As we walked around the ruins of a civilisation that collapsed around 1500 years ago I reflected on the cycles of nature, the rise and fall of life, of civilisations. I wondered how many of the multitude of tourists there were consciously reflecting on this in the context of the current state of our modern world. The important message is to become conscious of the good things that are already rising that I believe offer us true guidance for the future.

Lena, Emma and Alice, enjoying being together and exploring the ruins of historic Rome.

And then there were 5 Kennys!

Walking through the ruins of the Palatine.

Italy, what can we say. Bellisima!

Yesterday (21 May) we came to a tiny place called Casa Vacanze Marilena la Cassella, in Lisciano Niccone Commune, Perugia Province, Umbria. Firstly we had to collect our lease car from near Rome airport, and I had to quickly adjust to driving a left hand drive car on the right side of the road on a fast moving motorway. After more than 3 months of flying, being on trains, being driven to places, this was quite a challenge. But I did well and here we are in Umbria!

We came to this place because it is en route to Firenze, where we are going next week, and they had a special half price offer for a weeks stay during May. I found it by searching www.agriturismo.com, a very useful website if you are coming to Italy.

After all the challenges since we left home on 8 February this is an incredibly welcome, and stunningly beautiful, haven. Last night, with the help of some other guests here, I talked to Guiseppe who owns this place with his wife Marilena. I talked briefly about our journey and my work. There is something very special about the environment here ... tree clad hills, small villages, grapes and olive trees in pockets on the slopes, cultivated land on the flats. I am sure that it is not all perfect, but there is a powerful sense of harmony with nature here. It is my hope that sometime this week, with a little help, I might be able to talk to and film interviews with some local people. At the very least I plan to do some filming in this beautiful landscape, even if interviews don't work out.

A room with a view, the beautiful harmonious landscape of Lisciano Niccone in Umbria, a beautiful haven after 3 ½ months of travel.

Heading for Umbria on Monday

On Monday we are heading to Umbria. I have found a very nice farm stay (agriturismo) place that is costing only 299 Euros for a two bedroom apartment for 7 nights. It is a special deal for May... and is at least half cost. I don't know yet if we will make any good connections there and manage to add to our story, we'll wait and see. At the very least it will be nice to be in one place for a whole week and have a good rest... as well as see some of the special places in Umbria. On 28 May we head to Firenze (Florence) for a week, where I have a programme that has been organised by contacts of mine at the University of Florence.

(from Gavin in an email to Michael)

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.