Stone Quarry Restoration Action
During the past two decades, stone quarries that covered 110 hectares on the northern edge of Mitzpe Ramon were exploited by the “Mizpe Stone” company.
Keshet believes that through education, a sustainable community can be created. Keshet has initiated, executed, and assisted in dozens of projects in education, culture, and society in Mitzpe Ramon, and the neighboring Negev Highlands district.
Keshet encourages and supports the arts and culture in general, particularly in Mitzpe Ramon. It recognizes that culture and art are basic human needs and the foundation of a flourishing community.
The “Land of the Craters” is the moniker assigned to this small but unique part of our planet. First, we are obligated to preserve the phenomenon that is right in our backyard - the Ramon Crater. Secondly, with wise and careful planning, the Ramon Crater can be the catalyst that will spur the area’s sustainable future.
Keshet NGO recognizes the importance of preserving the traditions and heritage of the Bedouin communities of the Negev Highlands. We works with the communities members for recognition and preservation their endangered culture.
Over the years since its establishment, Keshet has shown how a group of determined residents who are willing to devote their own time and energy are able to bring the message of sustainability to the discourse on development, showing how we can live in harmony with our desert environment.
Keshet's activities are mainly funded by grants and donations from governmental or private organizations. Your generous donation will allow us to continue to grow and work for the communities of Mitzpe Ramon and the Negev Highlands!
Keshet is looking for you, committed people, who want to contribute their skills and time to local projects in the fields of community, education, culture and environmental development of Mitzpe Ramon and the Negev Highlands region!
We call on artists, community activists and protectors of the environment to join us and be a part of the vanguard of community in Mitzpe Ramon and the Negev Highlands!
These are the projects that are currently active
During the past two decades, stone quarries that covered 110 hectares on the northern edge of Mitzpe Ramon were exploited by the “Mizpe Stone” company.
Amending the environmental shortcomings in the Plan for the new “Western Neighborhood”. Toward the end of 2017, the Plan for the new Western Neighborhood was
The Makhtesh Naganim is a one-day music event, held annually in the Ramon Crater (“Makhtesh”) at the Ramon Colors National Park. It features extraordinary performances,
A series of lectures for the local community in Mitzpe Ramon, depicting remarkable locations the world over. Once a month, Travel Tales invites a lecturer,
Mizpe Ramon is situated in the heart of a vast wild desert. It has significant residual influence on the desert environment, which is expressed, among
The “Tents” project is a social business that combines the tourist activities of a large number of tourists, from among the Bedouin communities in the Negev Highlands.
The Desert Kindergarten Pilot is modeled after and planned according to the “Forest Kindergarten” concept that exists in Mitzpe Ramon. The project aims to establish
While Israeli Bedouins and Jews have lived and interacted on the Negev Highlands since the establishment of the State of Israel, they continue to live
Legalizing and recognizing Bedouin settlements and villages is a socially sensitive, legally complex, and politically controversial issue. Along Road 40, between Sde Boker’s Agricultural College
A partial list of projects and activities that have taken place in Keshet, over 20 years of activity
Envisioned by Gadi Lybrock, the Mitzpe Ramon Jazz Club, was established by Keshet in 2007, and has since become one of the Negev’s and Mitzpe
The Intimidbar Music Festival in Mitzpe Ramon is a joint intiative of Asi Zigdon and Gady Lybrock. It was created around the common vision of
This campaign sought to mobilize Mitzpe Ramon’s citizens against the plan to construct a vast drinking-water reservoir on open desert land, in close proximity to
Keshet was at the center of a public campaign against a governmental plan to develop a new residential neighborhood on the edge of the Ramon
CameriNegev is a long–term project that brings world-class Israeli classical musicians to perform in Mitzpe Ramon and the Negev Highlands. The project was conceived and
The new Master Plan for Mitzpe Ramon has been under development for more than a decade. Unfortunately, in its current form, it suffers from structural
Mitzpe Ramon is an isolated urban settlement, completely surrounded by the natural, untamed desert. The town is adjacent to the Ramon Nature Reserve, in which
The Mitzpe Ramon Municipal Council, like many other local authorities in the country, shares only a minimal amount of planning information – of vital communal
Camel Hill, a rock resembling a kneeling camel, surges prominently on the edge of the Crater, just south of the southern neighborhoods of Mizpe Ramon.
Kederat Midbar is a social undertaking that aims to increase the interaction and cooperation between the various ethnic and social groups in the local community
The village in Wadi Reir is also known as the Hidden Village. It is a small, unusual village in the Negev Highlands, tucked away in
The Desert Stars project came into being after 2010. It was initiated by a group of Bedouin and Jewish businessmen and educators, all who are
The Machtesh (Crater) Festival is a Mitzpe Ramon tradition, annually celebrating the unique attachment of the town’s residents to the crater and its surroundings. The
The upper reaches of this beautiful wadi – a dry riverbed – are peppered with large, beautiful Tamarix trees and the remains of Byzantine farmhouses
Over the years, the Center, led by Ms. Ephrat Leibrook and Dr. Noa Avriel-Avni, has provided a home for numerous environmental educational programs in Mitzpe
The establishment of a kindergarten with parental involvement in the spirit of the anthroposophical education at Midreshet Ben-Gurion The paucity of varied educational opportunities in
To strengthen the connection between the local community and the desert expanse, Keshet sponsored a series of geological courses to expose the community to environmental
This unique educational institution was created in 2002 by parents seeking an environmentally-oriented educational alternative for their children. For this purpose, they started the Keshet
We would be delighted to meet with you and share the inspiring story of the Keshet NGO. We’ll discuss how activism and determined civic actions have the power to transform reality, especially in the most secluded town in Israel.