Botanical garden of traditional medicinal plants

Al-Maissam − the Medicinal Plant Center for Research and Education at Kafr-Kanna was established by the Galilee Society's Regional Research & Development Center to support scientific and field research. Totally aligned with the mission of the R&D Center and that of the Galilee Society, it aims to provide local communities with the knowledge of native and endemic plants, their preservation and utilization.

Preservation and study of indigenous medicinal plants

The facilities of Al-Maissam include a botanical garden and greenhouse where medicinal plants are preserved. Preservation efforts of threatened medicinal plants were initiated through collecting information from local practitioners of Arab traditional medicine, cataloguing, and documenting methodical growing conditions for the endangered plants; setting up greenhouse and planting areas at Al-Maissam, and reviewing published survey and study results in scientific magazines.

About 300 different indigenous medicinal plant species are being cultivated and are preserved in the 1,000 sq. meter greenhouse and botanical garden (about 11,000 sq. ft) using permaculture techniques. Information concerning each plant, the Arabic and Latin name, and its medicinal, botanical pesticide uses and origin are posted on signs clearly marking the location of the plant. Many of the R&D Center’s experiments and research studies are carried out in the greenhouse providing scientists with easy access to plants for extracting bioactive compounds for research.

Applying sustainable development principles

The Center has adopted − whenever possible − the principles of permaculture. Permaculture focuses on thoughtful designs for small-scale, intensive systems that are labor efficient and use biological resources instead of fossil fuels. Designs stress ecological connections, closed energy, and material loops. For example, olive mill waste is used as a compost to grow medicinal plants without using chemical pesticides. The Galilee Society uses botanical and natural pesticides as safe compounds to treat some plant pathogens and there is no need for herbicides in this system.

The core of permaculture is incorporating working relationships and connections between all things into designs allowing each component in the system to perform multiple functions and support many elements (Founder of Permaculture Design, Bill Mollison). The center of the greenhouse at the Facility is made to resemble a "mandala" (an Indian geometric motif), which resembles a flower petal and maximizes surface area along with access. Each section of the "mandala" represents a different ecosystem, e.g. desert, Mediterranean, semi-aquatic, etc.

A straw-bale lecture hall was built at Al-Maissam using the unique and, for the Middle East, relatively new concept that began in the American prairies about a century ago. After being almost forgotten, this technique has made a comeback due to benefits such as low-cost, minimum environmental impact, and ultra high thermal and acoustic insulation. The aesthetic "old-world" look of thick, rounded walls is also inherently resilient, making the structure very suitable for seismically active areas.

Educational activities

A major component of the Al-Maissam's activities is education. Currently, the Center aims to benefit the local population at many different levels, but future plans will also allow the Center to offer ecotourists a wide variety of educational programs. Students, (elementary and high school) visit the Center regularly. Accompanied by guides from the Center students and teachers are able to explore and learn about organic agriculture, water resources, native plants, composting, alternative building, irrigation techniques, medicinal attributes of regional plants and permaculture. Some students also perform specialized projects that compliment their standard education at school, while others take specialized courses that prepare them for graduation from high school and may include final projects that earn credits towards their Bagrut (Ministry of Education’s high school graduation certificate). Teachers receive preliminary training to prepare for field trips and activities at the center.