Southern Hebron hills - Geographic notes
In the southern Hebron hills, in an area called Masafer Yatta, a small population of several thousand Palestinian farmers and shepherds live in shanty-like villages and in caves and tents. This is a very traditional population subsisting on non-mechanised agriculture and herding. These people, often referred to as ‘cave-dwellers,’ have lived in the area continuously since the early nineteenth century (documentation dates back to 1830, and aerial photographs from decades ago confirm their presence there). The first Israeli settlements in the area came into being in the early eighties and although the local Palestinian inhabitants were initially employed in construction and other jobs in these settlements, over the years relations deteriorated as the state of Israel aggressively appropriated land for the expansion of its settlements and terrorized the local population. Geographically the region is on the edge of the desert, which affects its climate, fauna and flora. The region is dry (an annual rainfall of about 280mm, and even less in recent years) and there are no stable water sources which makes survival there, without water connection, a difficult task. There is limited seasonal agriculture and herding, both restricted by overgrazing and the difficulty of marketing the produce in the nearby town of Yatta.
A joint thinking process between the local community and the project activists defined four main needs the project tries to address:
Basic energy needs for the house
Basic energy services for the houses will provide night time illumination and basic provision for communication with the outside world. Children need light in order to study, and charging the cell phones often provides the only link to the outside world especially when families are in need of support or solidarity in response to actions of the settlers or the army. Electric lightning will also, In many cases, replace harmful and dangerous oil burning lamps. Diesel generators are not a feasible solution due to high running costs and the geographical isolation of both the communities and individual households within each community, both negating the option of centralised generators.
Improved livelihood through revenue generating agricultural support
The ability to refrigerate and store the milk and dairy produce of the community will significantly increase the potential for generating revenue and reducing the cycle of deep poverty. Refrigerating perishable foods will reduce spending on foodstuff, allow for greater ability to plan and generally improve the quality of the diet in a region where the summer-time temperature can reach 50°C.
Cleaner and more accessible water
Because they are not connected to the water grid, local communities rely solely on cistern type water holes. The communities defined two urgent needs relating to the existing water system: the first is the gender specific burden of water pumping, an activity that can consume long and hard hours from the women in the house hold and the second is the quality of the drinking water. Another need that was raised was the provision of a washing machine, again, both a gender specific chore and water consuming activity.
Environmental sustainability
Providing systems that rely on renewable energy sources (that sometimes replace polluting oil burning lamps or diesel generators) protects a particularly vulnerable environment. Both the Indoor air quality and the carbon footprint of the communities will be significantly improved. The very existence of wind-and-solar systems will contribute to the realisation of basic human rights for the communities of the south of mount Hebron and significantly improve the quality of their lives.