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May 18, 2007
Cree delegation tours Israel
Shared technology will improve agricultural output in Manitoba.
EDGAR ASHER ISRANET
A delegation of 10 public figures from Manitoba, led by Chief Ovide
Mercredi, currently the chief of Grand Rapids, has just completed
an intensive study tour to Israel organized by the Prairie Region
of the Jewish National Fund (JNF), in co-operation with the Manitoba
government.
Delegates had the opportunity to see what Israel is doing in the
fields of water, forestry, environment and agriculture. Of particular
interest was the applicability of Israeli greenhouse technology
to First Nations communities.
During their tour, the Canadians visited various hothouse projects
in the north, centre, Arava and Negev regions of Israel. They were
also afforded the opportunity to visit religious and cultural locations,
particularly the Christian sites around the Sea of Galilee and in
Jerusalem. Several important institutes concerned with desert research,
water management and afforestation were also on the visitors' intensive
schedule.
"We came to Israel for a very specific purpose – to examine
technologies related to greenhouses and how we could apply that
technology in our own community," explained Mercredi. "The
Jewish National Fund made an agreement with our provincial government
in Canada to begin to deal with the challenge of helping our people
to live more healthily, which includes helping people in local areas
to grow their own vegetables."
"The province of Manitoba is working in collaboration with
the Prairie Region of the JNF to promote technology and research
partnerships that will assist communities in both northern Manitoba
and Israel," said JNF Prairie Region president Guy Dixon. "This
new Manitoba-based fund will be established to support research
exchanges between Israel and Manitoba universities. Research projects
will focus on the construction of rapid-growth greenhouse technology,
water conservation and forest diversification. The province has
committed $1 million in support of the fund and the JNF is targeting
an additional $1 million through a fund-raising campaign."
"We have a very short growing season in our part of the world
and the greenhouse might be the best approach we can take so that
we can provide fresh vegetables to our own community year round,"
said Mercredi, during a visit to the Weizmann Institute of Science
in Rehovot. "We do not want to depend on processed foods, [which]
are a problem with regard to diet and we have a serious problem
at home with regard to diabetes. Some of the issues with diabetes
can be dealt with or cared for by proper diet, meaning that if you
depend on fresh vegetables, as opposed to processed foods, you are
more likely to be free from diabetes."
Mercredi is from the Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation and is a former
national chief of the Assembly of First Nations. There are about
2,000 Cree currently living in Manitoba.
"We have learned a lot in Israel and I am impressed with the
speed [with] which your country developed and the vastness of the
enterprise and the depths of your challenges, and yet you have survived
and excelled in many areas and that's a testament to the strong
spirit that the people have in Israel," said Mercredi. "I
recognize this spirit because, in my own community, we have to become
more aggressive in looking after ourselves and become more engaged
in looking for solutions to the problems that we have. [What] I
also learned from this trip is that you may have a scarcity of resources
like water and land, but you look at these issues as a challenge."
This was Mercredi's first visit to Israel. "In my country,"
he observed, "we are bombarded almost on a daily basis with
the conflict between Israel and her neighbors. I see that there
is more to your country than the conflict. I don't want to make
any judgments on the nature of the conflict, but I see a people
excelling in their own environment and making contributions to the
world in general in science and technology, even making time to
help a small people like us. This is testament to [Israel's] goodwill."
There are many partners collaborating in the project; the local
First Nations community, the JNF, the province of Manitoba, Red
River Community College and various scientific and agricultural
institutions in Israel.
"We already have a commitment from the province of Manitoba
for the financing," explained Mercredi. "We will meet
back home in the next month to map out the cost of the project and
a timetable for its implementation. This will involve ongoing relations
with some of the people we have met in Israel during this visit.
We have a lot of problems today at home to deal with the poverty
in our community and the greenhouse project is part of that response.
Poor people can grow these vegetables and even sell surplus production
to the general public at a reasonable rate."
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