[DAC] Utopian Dreams

Fri Feb 29 13:09:47 EST 2008

The daily grind can take the shine off utopian ideals, or so history  
(and the cynics among us) seem to suggest.

It was with increasing astonishment that I spent a day with a group  
of Americans and Egyptians, looking at one man's utopian dreams that  
seem quite firmly rooted in reality, while continuing to glow and  
grow with the hues of a beautiful dream. A dream that began with a  
farm planted in desert sands.

Dr. Ibrahim Abouleish returned to Egypt and felt he had to make a  
difference.

I don't know if his well meaning friends and family attempted to  
discourage him, or the daily obstacles he encountered made him  
despair, as he affirmed that the problems he and his company has  
encountered have contributed to their strength.

Sekem is the result of his efforts of the past thirty years. An  
internationally recognized group of companies that takes lofty ideals  
down to earth with organic farming methods that has already  
influenced Egyptian farmers to grow cotton without pesticides yet  
increasing yields. Healing the earth was only part of the plan, as  
Dr. Abouleish's ultimate aim is the development of the individual and  
this through the schools(grades K-12),  training centers and various  
companies that are affiliated with and sheltered by the Sekem umbrella.

Research, production and marketing of organic products, fresh and  
dried, textiles and phyto-pharmaceuticals(pharmaceuticals using  
traditional compounds derived from botanicals instead of chemicals,  
and proven to have less toxic side-effects), through a group of  
companies that practice social and environmental responsibility while  
providing employees development and art experiences, at least weekly.

.

The atmosphere is relaxed, yet productive and the hum of bees add to  
the pleasant sensation of life lived in tune with nature.

The desert has become fertile, even yielding to the plantings of the  
kindergarten class, as this young lady proudly insists on showing us  
their wheat patch.

Her classroom is kept clean by the students, learning ethics and  
morals in a values based education model developed by the staff.
These youngest children learn as an extension of story-telling and  
play, so their development occurs as a natural unfolding of their  
curiosity and imagination. (I wish that was the way I of the world  
when I began school!)

The older students seem as enthralled with their projects as this  
group of embroiderers show,

which they are proud to offer for display and sale.

Contracts with foreign companies call for items like baby clothes,  
that are cut and assembled in the textile factory,

Dolls from organic cotton are also manufactured in the textile  
factory, probably a big hit with parent trying to avoid lead painted  
toys being chewed on by their precious little one.

Doll clothes for the dolls.

And wooden cradles are created by these young trainees, who will also  
make your furniture to order.

While the group in the machine shop actually mills their own very  
impressive tools and spare parts for the machinery and equipment.
Word has spread worldwide, and artists have come to work with and  
engage this astonishing community. German artists carve in stone  a  
fusion of images and calligraphy inspired by the pages of the Koran.  
We were also treated to a performance by a San Francisco group of  
students and teachers who have been using music, poetry and movement  
in a revival of an art called eurythmies.

I first encountered Isis organic coffee at the supermarket my second  
day here, and thought how great it was that there was organic food  
being grown and packaged in Egypt. The taste was excellent and I did  
not miss my freshly ground and brewed coffee as I continued to enjoy  
Isis coffee throughout the past five weeks.

I had no idea that my coffee was less than one page in the book being  
written by this man, Dr. Ibrahim Abouleish  on the holistic  
development of the child, the sustainable development of the  
environment and the social and cultural development of the employees  
in a business model that makes corporate greed look like the  
nightmares of the dark ages.

We can believe in utopian dreams, only the cynics among us seem to  
think otherwise.

Dr. Abouliesh has proven them wrong.

Love,

Lucilda

Visit my website www.Lucilda.com

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