Tifziland

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For my first few days in Israel, Tifzi, an art colony in the hills outside of Jerusalem, was my entire world. Tifzi is home to a group of six young men and a constant trickle of international guests. Everyone is welcome there and free to do whatever they wish, whenever they wish. It’s a place of refuge and good vibes. It’s a place to bring your demons and paint them out, or throw them in a ball of mud against a sandbag house. It’s a place where anything is possible and where ideas become reality in the blink of an eye. And it’s a place that’s hard to leave.

Tifzi is special on its own, but there are a few things that make the atmosphere and the experience there even more unique. Firstly, there’s no electricity. They’re working on making a wind turbine, but for now, when the sun goes down, candles are lit. There’s no music or television or computers. People enjoy each other’s company, stories and laughter without the distractions of modern technology. Secondly, it’s cold. Not just cold, but really effing cold. Doing the dishes – a chore that is normally only metaphorically painful – becomes a truly painful undertaking. Water only a fraction of a degree away from being an icicle runs out of the taps to freeze your hands. Using the toilet, too, becomes a mission that is put off until the last possible moment. After the initial discomfort of the cold wind against your bare bottom in the outdoor compost toilet, there’s the hand washing in what feels like broken glass afterwards. But in a way, the cold is good. It forces you to get close to others, to huddle together against it.

On my fourth night at Tifzi, a question came out of the freezing dark, “ Hey Chantel? Do you want to go sleep in the desert?” My answer to any “Do you want…” question is always an unequivocal, “Yes.” An hour later, I was shoved into the backseat of a packed Jetta, in between suitcases and underneath a pile of blankets. An hour after that, I was in the Judea Desert. The wind blew strong and warm. A full moon illuminated the jaggy profile of nearby mountains. We set up a tent and fell asleep. I woke up to a view that was white, rocky, barren, and undoubtedly a Middle Eastern desert. Less than 100 meters away lay the Dead Sea. After minimal exploration, we cleaned the car and drove back to Tifzi. It was then that I realized the absurdity of my situation. I hadn’t left the confines of Tifzi since I had arrived. It was time to do so.

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Photos

My Teletubby Forest
My second time holding a paintbrush... this took me three days to paint.

Steps 1, 2 & 3...
... of making an earth bag/mud house.

Steps 3,4 &5...
...of making an earth bag/mud house.