Sekem

The amazing story of the Sekem (literally the life-giving force of the sun) community in Egypt. The author was trained as a physician but returned to his native Egypt from Austria at the age of 40 after a trip home had made him aware of the parlous state of agriculture. He resolved to create a sustainable community in the desert, and set about this task with considerable resolve and creativity. The pictures in the book tell the story alongside the text, with flourishing plants and people. It has made itself financially viable by selling its produce, including medicinal herbs, and now oversees a network of over 800 farms in Egypt. It is a deeply spiritual story involving Islam and Anthroposophy that reminds one of Giono's Man Who Planted Trees but on a grander and more diverse scale. The initiative was rightly awarded an alternative Nobel Prize and will surely be an inspiration for our current century.