Poop Makes Soil, Soil Makes Wheat, Wheat Makes Poop or Tell Us About Composting Toilets

Sorry to be crude. We visited Kibbutz Lotan in the Arava Valley today and this song from our beloved Eden Village Camp came to mind when our guide showed us their composting toilet. Very different than Kibbutz Ketura (though right across the road from each other), Kibbutz Lotan specializes in ecotourism, educational programs with visiting colleges, living sustainably in the desert and Jewish Renewal. It was a fascinating place and we wished we had stayed there in one of their signature straw bale houses. Here are some pictures.

Talking about composting toilets.

Straw bale housing construction.

Rooms for guests.

Earth, sand and straw.

Brick-making.

So visiting Kibbutz Lotan was fun (and photo-ops were plenty - see my Flickr) because we also got to eat in the dining hall with the kibbutzniks and eat the yummy veggie food.

Then we hopped in the car to go back to our housing in the moshav. We drove north on highway 90 marveling at the geology the whole way and then turned left to go on route 227. It was on the map, it was on the GPS, but is was this harrowing, single lane, switch-back road that no one but intrepid geologists should travel upon. (Just kidding - go on this road because the views are amazing and you can tell your friends about the steel-drum-with-rocks-in-them guard rails).

Here's the map and some photos...

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The road was built by the British in 1927 and used in 1949 by the Golani Brigade. It was used as a major thoroughfare, "The Old Road to Eilat," until the 1950s, then the decent road (that we took) through Mitzpe Ramon was built.