January was a very successful month for BUSTANs Shatla Project.  Although the breakout of the war was somewhat discouraging, and even forced us to postpone a planting event numerous times, we strove forward, and worked our hardest to keep the momentum going.  On January 21, we hosted a fund raiser for the Shatla Project at Saluna, a hip venue in Yaffo.  Live performances were given by Aliza Hava, Ran Cohen, Lo Dubim, and Tanei Esther.  People came from all walks of life, and we filled up the place!  Everyone had a great time, while meeting other like-minded friends and family of BUSTAN, and raising money for a great cause.  Thanks to all of your support, we managed to raise over 4,000 shekels!  Great work to all the performers, everyone who helped us to plan and advertise, and of course, to you, the guests, for helping us make an impact in the Negev!  If anyone has any good photos of the evening, please pass them along to greencenter@bustan.org. 

This event was followed a few days later by the second installation of the Shatla project, a tree planting at a local mosque in the Bedouin Village of Um Batin.  Um Batin is unique as it is one of 9 Bedouin Villages that are “in the processâ€? to be recognized.  This means that although the Israeli Government declared these villages to be “Recognizedâ€? within the past few years, they have still failed to bring in the basic infrastructure that is necessary and that was promised.  The planting event was proceeded by an education day with the Junior High Boys.  The students learned about the importance of trees, how to care for the trees, and which types of trees are local to the desert.  Then, they put their heads together to make their own plan for where the trees would go. 

After this event was postponed 3 times due to rockets falling in the South of Israel, we finally were able to join this class and plant the trees according to their plans on January 26.  We had a very successful turnout and a great day for tree planting.  Among the trees we planted, olives and carob, we also included 2 indigenous desert trees, Tamarix and Ziziphus.  We are currently working on planning our next installation, which we hope will include simultaneous plantings in Bedouin and Jewish villages in the Negev.