SEKEM

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The organization SEKEM (Arabic: 'vitality from the sun') was founded in 1975 by the Egyptian pharmacologist Dr. Ibrahim Abouleish in order to bring about cultural renewal in his homeland. Located northeast of Cairo, the organization now includes

biodynamic farms
trading companies for
- produce and processed foods (Hator and Libra),
- herbal teas and beauty products (Isis),
- medicinal herbs and medicines (Atos),
- organic cotton products (Conytex)
a medical center
a Waldorf school
a vocational training center
a college, the Mahad Adult Education Training Institute
a research center, the Sekem Academy for Applied Art and Sciences
a Society for Cultural Development

SEKEM's goal is not to produce any unusable waste by cultivating organically. All the products of their system can either be sold or re-used, so that a sustainable circulation is possible.

1 History
2 Social connections
3 Motto
4 References
5 External links

[edit] History

Dr. Abouleish returned to Egypt in 1975 to begin a project of cultural renewal on the basis of a synthesis of Islam and anthroposophy. He found land in what was, at the time, desert bordering farmland of the Nile valley. The original goal was to develop the land and improve crop yields using biodynamic methods. A thick border of trees was planted to encircle the seventy hectares of land purchased in 1975, and trees were planted along all the roads built; a forest was also planted on part of the land. (The initial planting included 120,000 casuarina, eucalyptus and Persian lilac seedlings.) The Bedouins who lived nearby, and sometimes on the land, were brought into the project, given work and helped with their living needs. Buildings were built using traditional adobe; some of these were designed by Hassan Fathy. The initial farm animals were Egyptian buffalo. The organization sold milk products produced from the buffalo milk and produce from the farm.

The first large economic venture of the community initiative was production of a medicinal compound, ammoidin, an extract of Ammi majus (Laceflower). The manufacture of herbal teas and a company to market fresh biodynamic produce in Europe followed. The needs of these companies led to many farms throughout Egypt switching to biodynamic methods; the SEKEM organization began an active advisory service to aid these farms in the transition to and the maintenance of biodynamic standards. Sekem leased many of these lands.

Community projects began early in the initiative's history: a medical clinic using anthroposophic medicine, and a Society for Cultural Development sponsoring lectures, concerts and other cultural activities.

In 1987, the center for adult education (Mahad) began its work; children with handicaps are also educated in this center. In 1988, SEKEM opened a kindergarten also open to the local Bedouin community; this grew into the SEKEM school, educating children from kindergarten through twelfth grade (about 18 years of age) on the basis of Waldorf education. "The school serves Muslim and Christian children alike encouraging them to live in harmony and have respect for the other's religious practices."[1] The school also operates a literacy center for illiterate children between ten and fourteen years of age.

In response to the use of child labor in Egypt, SEKEM founded the project Chamomile Children", which offers children between ten and fourteen an education, vocational training, meals, and medical care in conjunction with their work; the children's teachers look after the children the whole day. There is also a cooperative for employees to organize the social processes (the Cooperative of SEKEM Employees), an independent organization with members from all the businesses and cultural institutions associated with SEKEM.

In 1990, SEKEM founded the Centre of Organic Agriculture in Egypt (COAE), an independent organization that inspects organic farms in Egypt, Iran and Sudan.

Faced with pesticide residues in their products that came from aerial spraying on nearby farms, SEKEM took up an initiative to eliminate such spraying in Egypt. As cotton production depended upon the sprays, SEKEM explored organic cotton production on initially small fields. The experiments were successful and yields actually were better than non-organic production achieved. The Egyptian Ministry of Agriculture sponsored further and more extensive tests. Within three years, the ministry agreed that organic pest suppression was superior for cotton farming and began converting the entire area of Egyptian cotton, 4,000 square kilometres, to organic methods for controlling pests; the conversion took two years. SEKEM then created a company to process organic cotton using mechanical rather than chemical methods, Conytex.

In response to increasing publicity about the novel methods employed by the community in many realms, the association of Muslim sheiks in Egypt gave the community a plaque verifying that SEKEM is an Islamic initiative. This was the result of intensive meetings between SEKEM and Muslim religious leaders.

SEKEM's next initiative was the first private pharmaceutical company in Egypt, specializing in medicinal teas. The medical center had now grown to the point where it needed its own building; concurrently it considerably expanded its outreach into the Bedouin community, helping establish sanitary facilities and clean water supplies.

In 1997, SEKEM established a vocational training center offering trainings in metalwork, carpentry, mechanical work, electrical work, tailoring, biodynamic farming and trading. The vocational center also includes an art school. The German Society for Technical Cooperation helped establish this project. In 1999 the SEKEM Academy (now Sekem University) opened. Originally a center for agricultural, pharmaceutical and medical research, the University now also conducts studies and offers training in other areas.

In 2001, a holding company was established to administer the finances of all the SEKEM companies and to oversee developmental projects. The holding company includes a department to help each individual company with its developmental process, and is also responsible for the education and training programs for employees.^[1]

[edit] Social connections

SEKEM works out based upon the principle that the health of the economy depends upon producers, distributors and consumers cooperating to generate stable businesses. It hosts a monthly gathering of all farmers working together with it; about 200 farmers attended these sessions as of 2004.

From the beginning of the 1990s, SEKEM has grown a lot, and now also deals with other great problems in Egypt that are related to the production of food, such as overpopulation, inadequate education and health care and environmental degradation.

SEKEM and Dr. Ibrahim Abouleish received the Right Livelihood Award in 2003 for integrating the commercial success with promotion of the social and cultural development of society.

[edit] Motto

Yearly seminars to reflect on the aims and goals of SEKEM have evolved the following motto:

We aim towards living together according to social forms which reflect human dignity and further development, striving towards higher ideals. Our main goal is a developmental impulse for people, society and the earth. Sekem wants to contribute to the comprehensive development of people, society and the earth, inspired by higher ideals. The cooperation of economic, social and cultural activities is stimulated by science, art and religion.

Sekem has set itself the following goals for the economic sphere:

Healing the earth through biodynamic farming
Development and production of herbal remedies and any kind of product or service which relates to real consumer requirements and has standards of the highest quality.
Marketing in associative cooperation between farmers, producers, traders and consumers.

We aim to advance the individual development of the person through the cultural institutions. Education towards freedom is the goal of Sekem's educational institutions for children, adolescents and adults. Health care and therapies using natural healing remedies are provided by Sekem. The Sekem Academy for Applied Arts and Sciences researches and teaches solutions to pertinent questions from all areas of life.

Socially, Sekem furthers a community of people from all over the world who recognize the dignity of the individual, enabling both learning to work and working to learn, and providing equal rights to all.