Getting to know Nimrod

So, another day in Nimrod is done :) clearing out guy's workshop took all morning and we were able to take the afternoon off to take a walk in the area around the village. Loving the sunshine and the fresh mountain air.

Over the last couple of days we've been able to discover and learn a lot about the village and region we're in. Let me tell you, there's a lot more than I expected. To start with, the village of Nimrod itself. We've been digging around in the ground a lot these past few days and every know and then we come up against broken up slabs of concrete. We now know that these slabs were once the foundations for an Israeli army (also know as the Israeli Defence Force - or IDF) base. It was abandoned some time ago only to be rediscovered and settled by its current residents; Guy and Lilach along with a number of other families. Just outside the entrance to the village (which we amazingly only discovered this afternoon) are the remains of what seems to be an old bunker/trench complex looking towards the Syrian border! We assumed it was part of the old IDF base and had just been left to weed over. It was great to find this piece of history in relatively good condition (despite the rubbish and the weeds). Who knows? Perhaps it was used during the war of Yum-Kippur?

The old bunker complex outside the entrance to Nimrod

Me in the old bunker with my back to the east, towards the Syrian border

And what about Lilach and Guy's work with the eco-lodge? Well, they are certainly doing more than the average person to try and "go-green". Their house and the lodges they rent out were all hand built by Guy using locally sourced wood, along with having solar panels and insulation to keep the heat in. Any wood used on the burners is again sourced locally from odds and ends. They try as much as possible to grow their own vegetables, but the soil around here limits the amount they can grow. Mind you, they have a well flourishing vegetable garden at the front of their house along with plant boxes for growing herbs and peppers in. The flowers alongside some of the pathways really lighten the place up as well :). They're also making good efforts in seed collection and distribution, they keep a variety of seeds from old plants and vegetables in storage so that they can be replanted, by themselves or in the local community like in schools. Nothing useful is wasted here :)

One of the family dogs chilling out in a herb box :)

The family atmosphere of the place is growing on me :) Lilach is so welcoming and friendly and she's treating us like part of the family. We're sharing herbs and fruit from her kitchen and laughing a lot of the time. Her daughter came home for the last time today before she joins the IDF for her national service, when she arrived it seemed like the whole family came out to welcome her and her friends and give them hugs. So much love in this family, its great to see :).

Lilach has also been telling us about some of the local issues related to the conflict in Syria, which seemed very close today as we thought we saw black puffs of smoke coming from the border region.... Anyway, Lilach told us that there is humanitarian work going on in the area to help the wounded from the areas of Syria close to the Israeli border. She told us that any patients that cannot be treated urgently within Syria get sent (along with a full medical report form their Syrian doctors) across into Israel to be treated in Israeli medical facilities. This allows help to be given to the wounded but also avoids a refugee crisis in the region (with all its political ramifications with it). The only sad side to this story is the fact that when the patients have been treated they are sent back across the border. Whilst it avoids a refugee crisis it has all the looks of a vicious cycle. Perhaps it is a "best of both worlds" solution, and given the circumstances is very commendable on the part of Israel. 

Well, that's it for this entry. Thanks for reading :)