Nr. 151 - April 2015

SEKEM Insight | April 2015 | Page 1

Dear Readers,8 years ago SEKEM decided to join a growing number of inter-national companies who publish sustainability reports on a yearly basis. SEKEM calls the docu-ment its „Report on Sustainable Development“ to emphasize the developmental aspect: sustaina-bility is not a state to be attained through one-time action but a continuously unfolding process of commitment to the holis-tic development of people and nature.

The visible expression of this process is this summary, the 2014 edition of which has just been published. In this issue, we would like to introduce you to it in our lead article. The doc-ument highlights in detail the importance of sustainability for SEKEM’s enterprises and social initiatives and explains where SEKEM already meets its goals – and where it does not.

Plus, if you do not yet have any other plans on 21 May and live in Hamburg, you may also take the chance to learn more about sus-tainability at an event SEKEM is organising together with GLS Bank and OIKOCREDIT. See the last page for details.

Editorial

Your Team of Editors

„We are Proud and Grateful“: SEKEM‘s Sustainability Report 2014

For the eighth time, SEKEM and its companies publish an annual report on sustainable development. The comprehensive documents recounts the steps taken by the initiative towards greater sustainability in four dimensions.

SustainabilitySEKEM Publishes Report for 2014

AssociationsLeaders Meet in SEKEM

Spring FestivalSEKEM Celebrates Together

Find SEKEM also on the Internet at:

„ We are proud and grateful“, Helmy Abouleish writes in the preface to

this year‘s sustainability report by the SEKEM Initiative. „The last four years have not been easy for us and yet we can now say: Yes, we did it!“, the Managing Director of SEKEM’s companies further adds. The current report on sustainable development published by the Egyptian initiative is also a sign of gratitude to partners and friends who have sup-ported SEKEM to successfully complete

the year of 2014 in spite of great eco-nomic and social challenges.

The report was presented to the gen-eral public at an event on 12 April 2015 which was attended also by some of these companions, for instance share-holders of GLS Bank and OIKOCREDIT, two financing partners who have invested heavily in SEKEM. As long-term SEKEM partners, they have for many years financially committed themselves

The sustainability report of the SEKEM Initiative annually informs of the main advancements in the four dimensions of social, economic, cultural and ecological development.

SEKEM Insight | April 2015 | Page 2

Economy

to working for and with the initiative in Egypt to advance its organic business.

An Integrated Approach to Development

For the eighth time, the SEKEM initi-ative and their companies publish their annual report on achievements in four dimensions of sustainable development: economic, social, cultural life and ecol-ogy. The summary document reflects the desire of SEKEM to advocate for an inte-grative approach to the care for human and natural development. Instead of con-centrating on “business as usual” and to later fix the problems cause by such behaviour, SEKEM encourages ethical business behaviour that integrates with environmental and social initiatives in the first place. Its „Flower of Sustainability“,

the management approach that guides the SEKEM companies’ performance, has been the basis of the work of these enterprises for years. It aims at a holis-tic and equitable interaction of man and nature in all regions of society.

Waste and Recycling

Four years after the revolution, the sit-uation in Egypt has somewhat calmed down and the country is slowly regain-ing economic stability. In this gradu-ally improving business climate, the SEKEM companies managed to increase their sales by 27 %. This development was necessarily accompanied by an increased production of waste, which was, however, limited to a rise of only 10 % – a very positive achievement in the light of strongly improving business. Thus, the productivity ratio of the use of natural resources by the SEKEM firms is continuously improving.

SEKEM is already able to recycle all organic waste it produces and in addi-tion is recycling about one-third of its non-organic waste. Just under half of all

packaging material used is also already recycled. The rate of waste recovered is steadily increasing. For 70 % of all products, its companies now create a certified CO2 footprint. The emission of climate-damaging CO2 could be reduced from 21 to 13 kilograms per 1,000 EGP in sales.

SEKEM could also significantly reduce the still unavoidable employment of fos-sil fuels on its farms.

Reclaiming More and More Desert Grounds

In agriculture, SEKEM could con-tinue with its efforts to green the desert over the past year. Today, it cultivates a total of 1,628 feddans (around 684 ha)

of ground that was reclaimed in this way. This represents roughly twice the size of New York‘s Central Park. The majority of this ground is farmed bio-dynamically.

Agriculture on these soils always has to cope with the challenges of irriga-tion. The preciousness of water is on the minds of everyone involved in agriculture in Egypt and SEKEM strives every day to use as little water as possible and pre-serve the most valuable resource of the desert. With the help of custom-built irri-gation systems, SEKEM could reduce agricultural water consumption by a fur-ther 25 % in 2014.

SEKEM also places great importance on the preservation and protection of seeds. Since 2009 the initiative has been

Continued on page 3

We are grateful to have come through the revolution years relatively unscathed.

„

In SEKEM, man and nature are supposed to develop in unison – an cross-fertilize each others spheres of life.

SEKEM Insight | April 2015 | Page 3

Social

R epresentatives of the SEKEM sup-port associations in Germany, the

Netherlands, Scandinavia and Austria visited SEKEM at the end of March to discuss their future activities and develop new common strategies for fur-thering the SEKEM cause. Together with local SEKEM coworkers, they received the chance to personally examine devel-opments at the cultural and social facil-ities that all of them have been tirelessly supporting from Europe for the past years – and not just financially.

Helping to Understand Islam

Dr. Ibrahim Abouleish thanked all those who had come for their excep-tional commitment and stressed the importance of both ideological and financial support. To him personally, it was a particular concern that the groups would keep on communicating the meaning of Islam in Europe clearly and openly both individually and as a group of like-minded organisations.

„We would like to consider more thor-oughly how we can understand Islam in new ways, especially with regard

to the coexistence of man and nature”, Hans Werner commented the effort. The German medical doctor has been sup-porting SEKEM for more than 35 years. Together with his wife Elfriede Werner, he had been one of the founders of the German SEKEM association. Dr. Ibrahim Abouleish spoke to him on the occasion of the meeting, expressed his gratitude, and congratulated the long-time friend who had just recently celebrated his 90th birthday.

Heliopolis University Continues to be in the Focus

The support for the Heliopolis University for Sustainable Development remains the key cause for all of the European groups. SEKEM’s founda-tional idea, that the seeds for individual freedom can best be sown through edu-cation, is still at the forefront of all their efforts. The Heliopolis University is still in its infancy and therefore relies heav-ily on outside support. That support may not only be financial but also includes the discovery of qualified teaching per-sonnel. For instance, Professionals are sought who contribute to the expan-sion of the existing faculties. Contrary to artists who wish to contribute to the Core Programme of fundamental stud-ies, academic staff is also needed who are willing to stay with the institution for an extended time. Moreover, there is demand for qualified instructors – specif-ically Waldorf teachers – and craftsmen for the other educational institutions.

After the meeting, the associations’ staff members reaffirmed their goal of continuing to spread the SEKEM impulse as widely as possible. The next meeting is planned for spring 2017.

Christine ArltYou can visit SEKEM yourself:www.SEKEM-reisen.de

maintaining its own seed bank that pres-ently boasts 234 different varieties – an increase of 22% compared to 2013.

Social Initiatives Extend Their Reach

SEKEM’s social institutions could also expand their activities in 2014. The med-ical centre, for instance, has treated a total of over 41,000 patients that year.

Aside from receiving treatment for existing illnesses, residents from the surroundings of SEKEM have also ben-efited from 194 micro loans to help them start their own small businesses. That‘s almost twice as many as during the year before.

In 2014, the SEKEM companies have also continued their engagement for equal opportunities for women and men. In this context, the demand for early child care has significantly increased. More and more mothers are choosing gainful employment when they know their children in good hands. In 2014 twice as many infants as last year were cared for in SEKEM facilities.

Opened in 2012, the Heliopolis University is also developing rapidly. The number of students increased to 554. 20 % of them receive a scholarship.

Generally speaking, the development of SEKEM is giving cause for celebra-tion: „We are grateful that we have mas-tered the revolutionary years, and are pleased that we can continue promoting sustainability“, says Helmy Abouleish.

„We confidently look into the future.

Christine Arlt

Continued from page 2

Heliopolis University Still in the Focus

The executive members of the European SEKEM support associations recently met in Egypt to share their achievements and deliberate common future strategies. Heliopolis University remains in their focus.

More information:http://issuu.com/SEKEM/docs/rsd2014en!

Members of the European support associations recently met in SEKEM.

SEKEM Insight | April 2015 | Page 4

Impressions from SEKEM

Impressions

B right reds, rich greens, and stunning yellows – on 26 April, the whole of the SEKEM farm bris-tled with the colours of spring April. Equally colourful was the cheerful mood of the SEKEM coworkers, pupils, apprentices, and students who participated in the first big celebration of

the year. As every year, it was time for the SEKEM Spring Festival to not only celebrate the birthday of Dr. Ibrahim Abouleish, but also that of the SEKEM initiative itself.

Firstly, the SEKEM community gathered on the farm in a large circle. It represents the solidarity of its members and the unity of the SEKEM family of individuals. Then, a versatile stage program with music, drama, eurythmy, and even sports performances took place in SEKEM’s Roman theatre. The children of the department for curative care performed a play on the topic of environmental awareness. The SEKEM students then gave a number of artistic performances and the students of the Heliopolis University impressed everyone with short skits, songs, and modern dance. Dr. Ibrahim Abouleish was honoured with a poem and a portrait crafted by Heliopolis University students.

A special highlight was the surprise visit of Samir Iskandirani. The famous Egyptian singer is a long-time friend of Dr. Abouleish and came to participate in the Spring Festival 2015 again on the SEKEM farm after 17 years.

SEKEM Insight | April 2015 | Page 5

News in Brief

Masthead:The editors of SEKEM Insight wish to thank all contributors to this issue.

Editors:Bijan Kafi (Chief Editor), Christine Arlt (Cairo Correspondent)

Contact:SEKEM-InsightGotzkowskystr. 1510555 BerlinGermany bijan.kafi@SEKEM.com

Pictures:1, 2, 3, 4: SEKEM; 5: Christine ArltNo republication without written consent by the publisher.

„ First and foremost, my family is my life. But my work, too, contributes a lot to

the fact that I am very happy with it“, Asmaa Mohammed Ibrahim confidently states. The 33-year-old engineer is work-ing at Mizan, SEKEM’s company dedi-cated to the production of seedlings to spread organic agriculture in the coun-try. At the plant, she works as a Head of Department in the field of plant breed-ing. Depending on the season, she is responsible for ten to 30 staff members.

Asmaa is a very cheerful woman with a strikingly positive aura. She studied agriculture at the University of Zagazig, the capital of the administrative region in which also the SEKEM farm is situated. Since 2007 she has been working for Mizan. She started out as an assistant to a farm manager who had brought her on board the SEKEM company because of her exceptional motivation and reliabil-ity. „I want to grow professionally. While it is nice to be in a position where you feel safe and have a regular work routine, I always want to learn something new. I have the ambition to be the best in my field of professional responsibility.”

Asmaa is married and a mother of two sons. After the birth of her first child, the SEKEM coworker took a maternity leave of two years. It was then that she noticed how important it was for her to work: „I have indeed enjoyed being able to put all my energy into my children, but I noticed that I missed something. My job gives me the opportunity to fully realize myself and that boosts my self-esteem. It is cer-tainly not easy to have a full-time job and to be a mother at the same time, Yet, I am much happier this way.”

SEKEM’s child care facilities are a substantial help to her and many fel-low women coworkers at the initiative. Asmaa brings her children to the care centre on the SEKEM farm in the morn-ing and fetches them again in the after-noon on her way home. „I am grateful to know that our children are in good hands at the centre while I pursue my profes-sion. It is especially important to me that they receive the holistic education that SEKEM offers them”, she adds. „The importance of such a education – that is what I try to convey them.“

The development of her children cur-rently has the highest priority for the sympathetic coworker from Mizan. „I also wish to convey to them that it is not at all important to attain a high rank in life, but to always give the best you can at the point in the world where you are.”

It is also the holistic view of man and nature that Asmaa Mohammed particu-larly enjoys with regard to her work envi-ronment at Mizan. Moreover, Asmaa loves the general atmosphere at the SEKEM enterprise and the great care its staff takes for its natural environment:

„When I set foot on the clean grounds of our company every morning and see the countless blooming flowers and the blossoming trees, I feel so well. This atmosphere certainly positively influ-ences the way I work”.

Christine Arlt

A griculture - the term itself evokes images of happy cows on lush

green meadows, full of summer flowers against a backdrop of picturesque tra-ditional villages. We know, though, that this advertising imagery rarely corre-sponds to reality. But how does agricul-ture really work? What role does it play for the development of rural areas through-out the world, for the people who live there, and for their ecological wellbeing? On May 21, 2015 at 19:00h SEKEM, GLS Bank and OIKOCREDIT will organize an evening dedicated to a closer look at organic farming at the GLS Bank’s new branch office in Hamburg. Two experts will answer these questions from their different perspectives: Bijan Kafi from SEKEM, a partner of Oikocredit, and Dirk Grah, regional director of the GLS Bank in Hamburg.

SEKEM and its partners are excited to learn more about the similarities and dif-ferences of organic farming in Egypt and Northern Europe.

Where: GLS Bank branch office Hamburg, Düsternstraße 10, Meeting Room 5th floor, Hamburg.

SEKEM, GLS Bank and OIKOCREDIT to Dedicate an Event to Sustainability

People in SEKEM: Asmaa Mohammed Ibrahim

More information:Please RSVP at norddeutschland@oikocredit.de or via fax +4940306201461.

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Asmaa Mohammed Ibrahim works for SEKEM‘s company Mizan as an engineer.