Keshet NGO works to preserve the cultural desert landscape of the Bedouin communities in the Negev Highlands by developing skills and initiatives in traditional agriculture.
Ancient Agriculture in the Negev Highlands
This agriculture led to significant economic development in the Negev, and during each period, it flourished.
From the dawn of the agricultural revolution to our days, the Negev Highlands region has been home to many agrarian cultures. This desert agriculture developed despite climatic conditions of less than 100 mm of rain per year, demonstrating high agro-technological and hydrological capabilities. In every stream channel in the high Negev Highlands, there are still remnants of traditional agriculture in the form of agricultural terraces, water storage pits, structures and agricultural installations, wine presses, and threshing floors.
The Bedouin Communities in the Negev Highlands
The Negev Highlands are home to approximately 1,300 Bedouin residents, residing predominantly in five distinct communities. The Bedouin communities that have existed over the past centuries throughout the Negev Highlands are an important part of the desert’s fabric of life. These shepherd communities, belonging to the Sarahin and Zayadin branches of the Azazme tribe, traditionally migrated seasonally between the high mountain area, where the weather is pleasant in spring and summer, and the regions of the large streams (Ramon, Nekarot, Mishor, and Paran), which are lower, hotter, and rich in pasture during the fall and winter seasons.
This local knowledge and Bedouin tradition, rooted in an area where remnants of semi-nomadic desert cultures have been preserved, are part of the cultural landscape of the region and hold potential for significant contributions to tourism and the preservation of the area’s natural character.
The traditional lifestyle and heritage of the Bedouins residing in the Negev Highlands are connected to the unique environment of the area and its natural resources (soil, water, and vegetation). The knowledge still preserved in these communities in areas such as livestock breeding (black goats and camels), traditional crafts, familiarity with spice and medicinal plants, local fauna and flora, soil, micro-climate, and water regimes, is valuable local knowledge that serves as an important resource for sustainable development.
The Bedouin communities of the Negev Highlands are the last custodians of the remnants of the cultural landscape of traditional desert rain-fed agriculture, based on runoff water. These communities still sow small grain fields (wheat and barley) in the stream channels, which are plowed and harvested manually, and cultivate olive groves and other fruit trees, as much as possible, in accordance with existing statutory limitations.
These communities have a planning horizon for regulation and recognition by the State of Israel, under Government Decision 579 dated November 3, 2021, and Government Decision 1362 dated April 10, 2022. Under these government decisions, the communities are expected, through a process of regulation and recognition, to become centers of traditional tourism and agriculture.
Alongside the “Land of Tents” initiative, which has been operating since July 2022 to promote and encourage the traditional Bedouin tourism sector, we aim to support, establish, and strengthen the preservation of traditional rain-fed agriculture among the Negev Highlands communities—both as a cultural preservation effort and a complementary part of the traditional tourism industry, as well as a means to strengthen the livelihoods of local communities and enhance food security.
Project Goals
The restoration and preservation of traditional Bedouin agriculture in the Negev Highlands serve multiple purposes:
- Preserving the culture and unique desert skills of the Bedouin communities in the Negev Highlands.
- Expanding employment opportunities and income from traditional agriculture.
- Lowering the entry barriers for new farmers to engage in the field.
- Cross-sector collaborations in the fields of traditional tourism and agriculture.
- Training and enhancing professional knowledge in desert rain-fed agriculture.
- Revitalizing traditional skills in agriculture and crafts.
- Planting orchards, fields, plantations, and domesticating desert medicinal plants based on traditional rain-fed agriculture, ensuring food security while cultivating for commercial purposes using traditional methods.
Project Objectives
- Preserving traditional agriculture that is at risk of extinction.
- Achieving economic resilience and independent sustainability for the project’s operational frameworks.
- Establishing the necessary infrastructure and resources to expand activities and increase yields.
- Developing additional agricultural heritage products while enhancing tourism and agricultural infrastructure and improving the appearance of community sites.
What Does the Traditional Agriculture Project in the Negev Highlands Include?
1. Applied academic research for the restoration of ancient wheat varieties (heritage strains).
- These varieties were common among Bedouin farmers in Israel until just a few decades ago. According to Bedouin farmers, these wheat varieties (Dabiah, Adbissawi) are well adapted to the desert environment, thriving in arid conditions under rain-fed agriculture, and they possess high nutritional value. The research will examine these claims and define optimal soil conditions for cultivating these varieties.
- Preparing agricultural plots for the cultivation of these wheat varieties.
2. Applied academic research on the domestication and commercial cultivation of desert medicinal and herbal infusion plants.
- Preparing plots for traditional cultivation for commercial purposes (e.g., Teucrium polium, Achillea fragrantissima, Cota tinctoria, Artemisia sieberi, Origanum ramonense Danin).
- The research will define the optimal soil conditions for each plant species to maximize yield with minimal resource use (including water resources).
- Developing a line of commercial products based on traditional knowledge.
3. Cultivating orchards of fruit trees, similar to the orchard model characteristic of the high mountain region in Sinai.
- Conducting training sessions to strengthen traditional agricultural skills, with the assistance of experts in the field.
- Planting fruit tree orchards and providing irrigation systems.
The project includes workforce components for management, consulting, training, and agricultural work; practical research; preparation of agricultural plots; procurement of agricultural equipment, fruit trees, and seeds; establishment of greenhouses for domesticating wild plants; and product development based on agricultural yields.
Our Partners in Academic Research on Traditional Agriculture in the Negev Highlands
The Arava Institute for Environmental Studies is a regional environmental research center and academic institution dedicated to fostering cross-border environmental cooperation. As one of the world’s leading institutions in its field, it was the first partner to join the project.
Leading the traditional agriculture research in the Negev Highlands from the Arava Institute are:
Dr. Miri Lavi – A PhD in Political Ecology, researcher, and lecturer in environmental, social, and climate studies at the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies and Tel Aviv University.
Dr. Oren Hoffman – An agro-ecologist by profession and the director of the Center for Sustainable Agriculture at the Arava Institute.
Professors Pär Ingvarsson and Martin Wein from SLU University in Sweden have also joined the institute.
SLU University promotes education, research, and environmental monitoring and assessment in collaboration with society as a whole. By focusing on the interaction between humans, animals, and ecosystems, as well as the responsible use of natural resources, the university contributes to sustainable social development and improved living conditions on our planet.
Professor Pär Ingvarsson is a professor of genomics and plant breeding at SLU, with extensive experience in studying abiotic stress responses in crops.
Professor Martin Wein is a professor of plant ecology at SLU, with a significant part of his research focusing on resource-use efficiency and stress resilience in agricultural crops.
In the project, they will contribute their expertise in ecology, crop cultivation, and management. Specifically, they will be responsible for comparing local wheat varieties with modern commercial varieties that have been bred to withstand abiotic stresses such as drought.
Mitigating the Impacts of the Climate Crisis
As desertification spreads worldwide, and particularly north of the Be’er Sheva region in Israel, growing wheat from European or American varieties—which require large amounts of water—becomes increasingly complex and demands greater irrigation. This, in turn, ultimately leads to higher costs for wheat, flour, and bread.
Restoring heritage wheat varieties that are genetically adapted to producing significant yields in arid conditions and low-rainfall areas through traditional agriculture in the Negev Highlands could make a significant contribution to mitigating the damage to the agricultural sector, which forms the foundation of our food supply.
If successful, the project could significantly transform the selection of wheat varieties grown in Israel. Already, several seed distribution companies have expressed interest in the research findings.
