Israel’s Negev desert is not where you’d expect to find an agricultural development project, but that’s exactly what the Sustainability Laboratory and the Bedouin town of Hura are creating, with the generous support of the Jewish National Fund.

Project Wadi Attir is a ground-breaking effort that is supported by the Jewish National Fund as part of its Blueprint Negev initiative.The project, initiated by the Hura Municipal Council and the US-based Sustainability Laboratory, implements holistic sustainability principles developed by the Lab.

Project Wadi Attir is a model for community-based agricultural enterprise, which involves raising sheep and goats — organically — for dairy, meat and wool. The project will also grow the desert plants that the Bedouin have used for hundreds of years, for medicine, food, and cosmetics.

TLV1’s Shoshi Shmuluvitz took a trip to Wadi Attir, where she discovered that the project is unique not only because it’s sustainable and combines Bedouin traditions with modern technology – but also because this project by Bedouin community, attracted an unusual group of active supporters, including JNF, a consortium of Government ministries, researchers from the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, local NGOs and private enterprise, and many donors from Israel and abroad.