Continuing on in the conversation, Rodney describes how he made peace with his Bedouin neighbors and what he learned about their culture, their customs and their lifestyle. He also tells his riveting, personal story from his deployment to Gaza as a young man in the Israeli Defense Forces, and what he was trained to do as a Sniper with the Special Forces. The conversation wraps up with his perspective on the Israel-Palestine conflict overall, and the life lessons he’s learned over the years.

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It started with a buried bomb.

Rodney was born in South Africa. His family made “aliyah” and moved to Israel when he was a young boy, where he grew up in a local kibbutz community, and joined the Israeli Defense Forces when he was 19. Years later, after fighting through twelve years of bureaucracy to purchase land and settle south of Beersheba, thieves from the neighboring Bedouin village threatened to ruin his peaceful lifestyle. So he buried a grenade for the next intruder. But then something changed.

Listen in as Rodney shares stories from his life: his road trip from South Africa to Israel-Palestine, being put on trial along the way in Africa, his long journey to find a peaceful place to live, the resort area he built, and what he’s learned about patience. 

Check out Makman Dunes Resort here: http://www.makmandunes.com/ 

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Dr. Soumya Balasubramanya, an agricultural researcher for the World Bank, has a message for Western technology developers:

“To all those brilliant innovators in Israel, I would say get out there and just… go back to your backpacking days. Get out there and spend some time in the world. If there’s a problem you’re interested in, go see how people in Ethiopia or India or Nepal or wherever you’re interested in — how do they go about living their life — which will give you ideas for how do you have truly transformative technology. Right? Because I don't think we understand this enough. Because most innovation comes from the West. That’s the whole problem.”

Join the second part of the conversation as we dig into geopolitical topics in Tunisia, Ethiopia and Egypt: geography, groundwater recharging, community agricultural practices, government incentives, agricultural extension programs, the role of governments, challenges in the agriculture-water-energy-culture nexus, the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, contextually appropriate technological solutions, and how to understand failures.

Disclaimer: Views and opinions expressed by Dr. Balasubramanya are expressly her own and do not represent the views of the World Bank.

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How can developing countries manage to save depleting water resources and also facilitate a just energy transition when they are only offered Western solutions built for entirely different geographies and entirely different cultures?

Dr. Soumya Balasubramanya, a Senior Researcher in Environment and Development Economics at the International Water Management Institute and the World Bank, says there’s been a huge disconnect between Western technologies and the realistic needs of developing countries, as they seek to balance economic development, livelihoods and environmental sustainability, all at the same time. Dr. Balasubramanya also says there’s been a disconnect between some governments pushing sustainability and the practical needs of the farmers working the land.

But there are solutions.

Listen in as we discuss rich socio-economic topics like the purpose of the World Bank, agriculture in Jordan, trends in Israeli water management, the implementation of sustainability technology, drip irrigation, population increases, intergenerational equity, poverty, a just energy transition, regenerative agriculture, and the need for government task forces to facilitate a just transition in technology and infrastructure solutions for agriculture. And the sociocultural details really matter, because, according to Dr. Balasubramanya, there are no easy answers.

Disclaimer: Views and opinions expressed by Dr. Balasubramanya are expressly her own and do not represent the views of the World Bank.

Interview recorded on 18 October 2022.

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Amidst the volatile tension and political gridlock of the Israel-Palestine conflict, only a few organizations are still successfully finding avenues to build meaningful relationships through dialogue and cooperative projects. The Arava Institute of Environmental Studies (AIES) is one of the few. Listen in as the Executive Director of AIES, Dr. Tareq Abu Hamed, unpacks his perspective on the conflict, the dynamic role and mission of the Institute, and their vision for an expanded, multifaceted Institute that catalyzes science, technology and leadership across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).

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