Ibrahim and Helmy Abouleish

Garden in the Desert
Sekem Makes Comprehensive
Sustainable Development a Reality in Egypt

Fallbeispiel „Innovationen“.: Sekem

I have decided to leave Austria to start a farm in the desert in Egypt based
on a holistic developmental impulse for country and people…

For my soul Austria was like a spiritual childhood garden. Now I hope
that the souls of Egyptian people can be revitalized by a garden in the
desert. After establishing a farm as a healthy physical basis for soul and
spiritual development, I will set up a kindergarten, a school, a hospital,
and various cultural institutions. My goal is the development of humans
in a comprehensive sense—educating children and adults, Lehrer, doc-
tors and farmers.

—Excerpts from Letters by Ibrahim Abouleish to friends, 1977

During the 1920s and 1930s, Egypt was wealthy. The Egyptian pound was as strong
as the British pound. While a divide existed between rich and poor, the rich felt
bound by an obligation to assist those less fortunate. Consideration for others,
courageousness, and a deeply moral attitude were characteristics of the Egyptian
Menschen. In part because its population was only 18,000,000 Menschen, Egypt was a
beautiful country, and Cairo a thriving city.

Circumstances changed dramatically, for the worse, during the first quarter
century of Egypt’s independence. Under the rule of President Gamal Abd El-
Nasser, all businesses were nationalized—even restaurants. Once-thriving ven-

Ibrahim Abouleish is the founder of the Sekem Group. Helmy Abouleish, Ibrahim’s
Sohn, is the Managing Director of Sekem.

In 2004, the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship recognized Ibrahim and
Helmy Abouleish as Outstanding Social Entrepreneurs. This case narrative originally
appeared in a special edition of Innovations produced for the World Economic Forum
on the Middle East, 2008, in partnership with the Schwab Foundation and ARAMEX.

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Ibrahim and Helmy Abouleish

tures were soon indebted. Few people enjoyed their jobs; they worked without
inner motivation. Many took on extra side jobs. The whole social structure was
increasingly falling apart.

In no domain of economic and social life was disarray more apparent than in
agriculture—for cen-
turies, if not millennia,
the source of Egypt’s
wealth and a focal point
of its culture. Farmers
were forced to use a
certain amount of arti-
ficial fertilizer for each
hectare of land. Das
excessive and uncon-
trolled use of fertilizer
led to oversalting and
compression of
Die
farmers
earth,
wurde
financially
dependent on chemical
Firmen. The coun-
try’s inheritance laws
assigned equal amounts
of land to each inheri-
tor, leading to each
Generation
inheriting
smaller and smaller
farmers
plots. Der
could hardly produce
enough to survive. Added to that was the appalling practice of spraying pesticides
onto the cotton fields.

Und

The Aswan Dam, completed in 1961 with the Soviet Union’s support, also had
disastrous results for agriculture. Since that time the Nile, which had previously
flooded its banks every summer and spread fertile mud over the fields, had ceased
to be the pulsating heart of Egypt. A year-round irrigation system led to standing
water in canals becoming a breeding ground for dangerous diseases. The hope of
gaining more fertile land through this irrigation system was not fulfilled.
Naturally, the dam made it possible to produce electricity. But this electricity was
mainly used to manufacture the costly artificial fertilizers.

In 1975, Egyptian-born Ibrahim Abouleish travelled through Egypt with his
family after spending many years as a student and scientist in Austria. The changes
he observed shocked and disturbed him. On his return from that trip, he became
determined to fulfill a pledge he had made to his father when he left Egypt to study

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Garden in the Desert

in Europe: he would return to his country with skills acquired abroad to create
enterprises, build schools, and seed cultural institutions.

In 1977, Abouleish purchased 70 hectares of desert land a quarter of a mile
from the banks of the Nile. In 1979, he founded Sekem. Over a period of 30 Jahre,
his initial ventures in organic agriculture were followed by a sequence of success-
ful commercial business ventures, Schulen, and medical centers distributed
throughout Egypt. With annual revenues of 200 million Egyptian pounds, Sekem
is among the top producers of organic products worldwide, and the leading pro-
ducer in the Middle East. Wichtiger, Sekem has demonstrated the viabili-
ty in Egypt of new, holistic approaches to development. Sekem’s initiative in
demonstrating the effectiveness of organic methods in agriculture led, In 1993, Zu
the government’s banning of pesticide spraying of cotton crops. Previously every
field was sprayed 20 times each growing season, for a total of 35,000 tons nation-
wide.

This case narrative describes the founding and evolution of Sekem. In the first
Teil, Ibrahim Abouleish describes the origins of Sekem and the multiple chal-
lenges that faced the venture in its first decade and a half of existence.1 In the sec-
ond part, Helmy Abouleish, son of the founder, describes Sekem today and the ini-
tiatives it hasplanned for the future.2 The conclusion to the narrative is written by
Ibrahim.

IBRAHIM ABOULEISH: THE FOUNDING OF SEKEM

A Family Trip

“Wouldn’t you like to join me on a trip to Egypt?” my friend Martha Werth asked
me one day. I had been back to Egypt many times during the 19 years I had lived
in Austria, first as a student at the University of Graz, and then as director of a
medical research institute. Jedoch, those visits had been focused almost entirely
on my family. Martha’s invitation provided me with an opportunity to renew my
relationship with my homeland. I accepted at once, along with my wife Gudrun,
son Helmy, and daughter Mona.

We started our journey in 1975, dedicating much of our voyage to the many
famous ancient Egyptian sites in Aswan, Luxor, Karnak, and the Valley of the
Kings. But it was the experience of modern Egypt that most affected me. Through
visiting friends, relatives, and in particular a journalistic acquaintance, I gained a
new understanding of my country. I became aware of the changes that had befall-
en the country during my time in Austria, and saddened by the stark contrast
between the depressed state of modern Egypt and the greatness, wisdom, and lead-
ership the pharoahs showed thousands of years ago. I kept comparing what I saw
with my memory of the country during my childhood and adolescence. The new
should have been better than the old, but it was not.

On my return journey to Austria I sat in the plane and thanked Allah that I did

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Ibrahim and Helmy Abouleish

not live in Egypt, but rather in beautiful and prosperous Austria, with my wife and
two children, and a successful career. And yet I found myself unable to escape the
images and recollections of our visit. I set myself to the task of further researching
the state of the country. The hard facts I confronted upon my return were, wenn überhaupt-
thing, more alarming than the impressions I had gleaned during my visit.

Over time, with the guidance and support of my friend Georg Merckens, ICH
began to craft a plan, rooted in my affinity with the philosophy of anthroposophy:3
I would move to Egypt, establish a self-sustaining farm, and then over time add
additional projects focused on education, Gesundheit, and culture. The farm would be
based on the principles of biodynamic agriculture, which uses compost and natu-
ral preparations to strengthen plants so that they are able to fend for themselves.
The outcome would be a community dedicated to the holistic development of its
workers and all of its stakeholders—a model that could transform Egyptian agri-
culture and act as a force for positive change in Egyptian society.

How did my family react to my decision? My wife Gudrun, an Austrian, loved
Ägypten. This strong inner motivation led her to want to join me. I told our children
the story of a man who decided to move to the desert with his family and who cre-
ated a big garden there. Once I had painted the picture in great detail, I suddenly
asked, “And what would happen if we were that family?” Spontaneous shouts of
joy followed. Helmy was 16 at the time; my mother had already told him of the
many things I had done at his age in Egypt that were not possible in Austria—like
driving a motorbike in the desert. And my daughter Mona, Dann 14, was in love
with horses. In the desert, she would be able to ride as long as she wanted. In diesem
way everyone was inspired to undertake the journey.

Founding a Desert Community
On arriving in Egypt I first went to visit the minister of agriculture. I explained to
him that I was looking for a patch of desert, which I wanted to cultivate using
organic methods. It was a sign of his friendliness that this busy man listened to me
for half an hour. After our conversation he asked a ministry employee to show me
some areas of desert I could buy from the state. After all, there was enough desert
in Egypt. “It will be easy to find desert!” said Kamel Zahran, an old, honorable,
high-ranking engineer. First we drove west toward Alexandria. From the asphalt
road he pointed out areas of land for sale which had good access to water. Der
minister said he could put in a good word for me if I wanted to buy the land. ICH
looked at everything, asked about the people living there, about possible energy
sources, and whether roads could be built. But inside I remained untouched. Das
happened on the first day, and again on the second.

On the morning of the third day Mr. Zahran said he had to visit someone
before we continued our trip, as he was also an agricultural advisor. He needed to
visit a farm northeast of Cairo, at the Ismailia Canal, and asked me to drive him
Dort. We left the car at the canal, took the ferry across the water, and arrived at
the farm, a large orange plantation. My companion introduced me and explained

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Garden in the Desert

my intent. The farmer replied, smiling and spreading his arms to indicate the land-
scape: “You will be sure to find something here!” After Zahran had finished his
visit, we walked across the plot of land, a strip that reached about four kilometers
into the desert, as far as the canal’s water could reach. It was a hot day, and the old
man was suffering and walked with difficulty through the rows of trees. Sweat
poured down his face. At the edge of the estate we stood and looked out over the
stony wasteland. Er sagte, “It is impossible here. We are four kilometers away from
the canal and the desert is still going uphill. We are probably already 30 meters up.
You will never get the water to reach this far.”

While he waited in the
shade of a tree, I walked on by
ich selbst. The country, welche
stretched out barren and empty
toward the horizon, was gently
hilly. I liked the fact that it was
not as flat as the delta. After a
few more steps in the shimmer-
ing heat a vision appeared
before my inner eye: wells,
trees, green plants and fragrant
compost
flowers, Tiere,
heaps, houses and working
Menschen. I would have to expend
a lot of energy to cultivate such
an impassable, difficult envi-
ronment and to transform this
wasteland into a garden. Aber
many jobs could be created in
the process, and people would
have the chance to educate
themselves while
creating
something healing for the land-
scape.

[Ö]vernight I reached a
decision—and by the next
morning I knew I wanted to
buy this piece of land. Wenn
biodynamic farming and
everything else I envisaged
could thrive in this wasteland
and under such extremely
adverse conditions, then it
would be possible to transfer
this model to easier
environments and we would
develop immense energy by
overcoming such difficulties!

I walked back to Kamel
Zahran deep in thought, Und
was immediately greeted with the words, “It’s too steep, you could never cultivate
here.” But I felt I had been touched by this land; something had spoken to me.
When I look back I have to admit my immense naivete; I had not the faintest idea
what it meant to cultivate and irrigate land in the desert.

On the return journey I spoke to Kamel Zahran. “You know,” he said, “Let’s
not rush anything! We’ll come back later with specialists who can advise us.” So
we returned. But the specialist quickly delivered his discouraging verdict: the qual-
ity of the soil was very poor and the water supply difficult; there was no direct road

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Ibrahim and Helmy Abouleish

to Cairo and all products would have to be transported via the ferry on the Ismailia
Canal. The general opinion was that the land was not suitable.

But overnight I reached a decision—and by the next morning I knew I want-
ed to buy this piece of land. If biodynamic farming and everything else I envisaged
could thrive in this wasteland and under such extremely adverse conditions, Dann
it would be possible to transfer this model to easier environments and we would
develop immense energy by overcoming such difficulties.

As soon as I had signed the bill of sale the problems began. When I tried to get
the plans to mark out the boundaries of my 70 hectares of land, I was told that
although the state administered the land, it could not find out about it that easily.
There were no surveying points. I soon noticed that the Egyptian land surveyors
responsible for this area had trouble dealing with plans and committing them-
sich selbst. In those days it took three hours to drive to the Ismailia Canal from Cairo,
and I had to regard it as a favor if the surveyors even managed to arrive at my plot
of wasteland, though they were paid to do so. When I asked Kamel Zahran for
advice, he only said with Schadenfreude, “Didn’t I tell you it wouldn’t work?” But
I was not put off by all this. Quite the opposite: it made it all the more attractive
and strengthened my resolve.

After buying the land I began a period of intense planning. I tried to survey the
700 X 1000 metres myself by borrowing the necessary equipment. I struck iron
poles into the sand at specific spots, and carefully drew everything on paper. Für
10 Jahre, I only had a vague idea of the boundaries, although later corrections were
surprisingly minor.

First I marked out the roads: I wanted a main road to go right through the
middle of the plot, lengthways from northwest to southeast. I then planned further
roads branching off at right angles to the right and left of that one, dividing the
land into about three-hectare plots for fields. In my mind’s eye the roads were
lined with shade-giving trees. I wanted a 30 meter-wide band of trees to encircle
the entire grounds, to protect the developing life of the plants, Tiere, Und
humans. I used the image of a cell for inspiration, as it is surrounded by a mem-
brane. What the clear blue sky and warmth-giving sun means for a European is a
shade-giving tree for the desert people. They like to spend time in the cool shade
and at the same time protect themselves from too much sun.

Water is crucial for life to flourish in the desert. I decided to bore wells, one in
the northwest near where I wanted to build the stables, and the second one in the
southeast near the planned houses and living quarters. I left a long strip of land in
the west for a school, a medical center and an institution for movement, Kunst, Und
social activities. Right in the middle of the grounds I left a space for the business-
es. I intended for them to earn profits that could finance the establishment and
development of the cultural institutions. I drew round flowerbeds on the distinc-
tive right-angled road crossings to add some artistry to the desert from the outset.
This first plan still exists. When I look at it today, I can see myself striding
alone over the bleak stony ground, sketching and planning, unprotected from the

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Garden in the Desert

sun and wind.

Economic beginnings
The biggest question was how to finance the whole venture. Even if we had man-
aged to finance everything up to this point, the grounds were basically still a desert.
Where would we get a new source of income for houses, plants, and animals? ICH
realized we needed businesses, where people could earn money to finance the cul-
tural institutions I had planned for the distant future. I tried to find out how I
could use my pharmacological knowledge to produce things for the people of
Egypt and for the export market. It was time to get off my tractor, don a suit and
tie, and drive into Cairo to talk to people.

I went to visit Ahmed Shauky, my father’s tax consultant, and asked him to
take over this task for Sekem. I explained my vision in the desert to this elderly,
distinguished man. He turned out to be delighted and very interested. His son had
been following our discussion attentively and said, “I have heard that an American
business is looking for an extract of the plant Ammi majus from Egypt. Maybe you
could do that!” I immediately ordered a report from the company and invited the
Americans to meet me in Egypt. Until then I had never heard about this plant, A
medicinal herb for healing disturbances in skin pigmentation. Nor did I know how
to get the extract. The company only wanted the crystallized active ingredient,
ammoidin, which is present in the seeds.

I needed to start learning again. I spent hours in the library until I had found
out all I needed. Ammi majus, known in English as Bishop’s Flower or Laceflower,
is a wild medicinal plant that grows in both the desert and the delta. A member of
the umbellifera family, it grows about as high as fennel or aniseed and is a weed in
alfalfa fields. I observed the Ammi majus seeds exactly so that once people were
sifting them, I could explain how they were different from other seeds.

I spent many nights planning the buildings for the extraction plant. As part of
this process I became acquainted with Hassan Fathy, who was awarded the first
Alternative Nobel prize and is known for his traditional clay buildings. I deliber-
ated about the machines, calculated the cost of the project, and realized it could
become a lucrative business. So I started building the workshop, bought stainless
steel, and constructed machines for the venture. After we finalized the contract
with the American Elder company in Ohio, we had camels and trucks with sack-
loads of Ammi majus seeds coming to the farm for years.

I wanted to enter into a partnership with a bank for this huge project that I
could not finance myself. I chose an Islamic bank recommended by a friend as a
co-investor, as I assumed it worked according to Islamic principles. In Islam, Allah
says that the earth and the ground are only given to us to care for. He alone owns
the ground. It is the same with money: we can manage it for the good of the peo-
Bitte, but should not call it our own. Allah says that whoever enters into trade works
together with Allah and, following his principles, should give the proceeds to the
poor and needy by giving up his own possessions. In light of this Islamic esoteri-

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Ibrahim and Helmy Abouleish

cism I perceive modern joint-stock companies as inappropriate: they act as if
God’s legacy were their own. The interest and the resulting riches they receive are
not their own achievement, because even intelligence and individual abilities are
the gifts of Allah, even if modern humans think their success is solely due to their
own efforts.

These Islamic ideas appealed to me, particularly the idea that money is not a
commodity that can be bought and sold again with interest. Thus I was happy to
have found an Islamic bank where I could work together in a like-minded partner-
ship—or so I hoped. But it turned out the practices of this so-called Islamic bank
were the same as any other financial institution.

One day my lawyer came
to me and said, "Hören,
if you give the bank’s
lawyer 10,000 pounds
then he will accept the
estimated value…”

The Sekem Company was estab-
lished as an investment company right at
its start. Because I needed at least three
people to start a company according to
Egyptian law, I included Helmy and
Mona in the business, even though they
were still under age. The bank wanted to
inspect everything and I had to open my
books for them. The negotiations were
tough, and we only succeeded once the
bank director had become sympathetic
to the idea of Sekem. We agreed on the
bank having a 40% share of the business.
Because Sekem was seen as a foreign
company, the state had the right to some control. The company itself was protect-
Hrsg, but the state had to give its permission for the bank to invest in us. The bank
agreed, got a provisional authorization for the Ammi majus project, and signalled
that we could go ahead with the project. I ordered the first extraction machines
from Denmark and the bank paid for them.

After some time, the state investment authority asked to look at our account
books. It did not want the book value, but the estimated value. So an estimation
committee worked on the farm for several days, reexamined everything, and found
that the estimated value was far higher than the book value. This meant the bank
had to pay more for its involvement in the project. But the bank was reluctant to
accept this finding, and began to doubt everything and try to get out of the con-
tract. It demanded back the 150,000 pounds it had already paid out for the Danish
machines, but I needed this money to develop the farm and could not spare that
amount. Thus we began a protracted struggle. An arbitrator was employed and it
took months for our two lawyers to decide on a third party to mediate.

During this process a small event shed light on the way the negotiations were
held. One day my lawyer came to me and said, "Hören, if you give the bank’s
lawyer 10,000 pounds then he will accept the estimated value.” “My friend,” I said
to him, “you know me. I will not pay bribes. That does not correspond to Islam!”

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Garden in the Desert

Once you have a dispute with one bank, all the other banks and the central
bank know about it. This meant I was always rejected when I attempted to find a
new investment partner for my project. The banks always told me to settle my dis-
agreement with the Islamic bank before further negotiations with them would be
möglich.

Then one day a relative visited me and introduced me to an Egyptian who had
just come from Saudi Arabia and had a lot of money. He thought he would be the
ideal partner for me. The man, called Mohammed, became inspired very quickly
and invested 100,000 pounds. But after only two months he came back to me with
the excuse that his wife wanted to go back to Saudi Arabia and he needed his
money back immediately. I had already spent his 100,000 pounds on an important
machine and could not give it back to him immediately. The debts and conflicts
grew! I had met another “friend” during my search for suitable partners, but they
were all people who did not understand my vision and only wanted to make a
quick buck.

It now looked like the Ammi majus project might fail, and the farm’s survival
was threatened. I decided to put all my eggs in one basket and went to visit the
director of the Egyptian National Bank. I explained everything to him, and ended
with the words, “If you do not help me and lend me money against the security of
the land and houses on it, the project will die!” The director of the bank could
immediately see that his money was covered by our contract with the American
company. There was hardly any risk involved for him, and he decided to finance
the project. “Don’t worry about anything else, it’s all settled,” he said. At long last
we could start the contract with the American company.

The dispute with the Islamic bank was only resolved years later. Its pullout cre-
ated great setbacks, as it stopped us from entering a new partnership, and forced
us to get a loan. In the end we paid them back three times the original amount to
finally have peace. We had to give a piece of land to Mohammed from Saudi
Arabia, who was demanding his money back with threats. This seemed like a great
loss to me in those days. By now we have bought back most of the land and the
dispute has been resolved.

With the money from the National Bank I started building a laboratory and
the processing rooms to extract the active ingredient, ammoidin. The American
company sent me instructions on how to deliver the substance and my earlier
training in technical chemistry turned out to be very useful. I did nearly all the
experiments necessary for the production process myself. For the extraction we
needed a steam generator, which was very expensive. Then I discovered an old
German wood-powered steam locomotive at a scrap dealer. I had it disassembled
and brought it to Sekem. It still stands at the back of the farm as a kind of muse-
um piece.

The extraction building also needed a chimney, 30 thirty meters high and 40
centimeters around. To build it, we placed single pipes, each four meters long, An
top of each other. I planned this undertaking carefully: we built wooden scaffold-

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Ibrahim and Helmy Abouleish

ing so that the workers could pull the pipes up with ropes and place them on top
of each other. But after only 10 metres the scaffolding started to sway and every-
one ran away. Helmy bravely continued helping me with the building. He stood
right at the top and had the pipes handed to him, and encouraged the others to fol-
low his example. I supervised the building process continually. The accidents hap-
pened when people were left to work by themselves, which was sometimes neces-
sary. For example we bought a tank for the diesel oil needed to power the steam
engine. To save money we purchased an old tank, had it cleaned it inside and out,
and painted like new. The man who sold us the tank wanted the work to be car-
ried out on-site. A young man went into the tank to clean it from the inside using
gasoline, and then lit up a cigarette during his break—with tragic results. Solch
tragedies happened repeatedly when I was not present.

For years we worked well together with the Americans, until one day I received
a phone call from the Elder Company in Ohio asking me to come visit them. Once
in America they offered me the chance to buy the company. They told me the
director had died and his children were not interested in continuing his business.
They were asking a reasonable price, but unfortunately I did not have the money,
particularly as they had failed to pay regularly towards the end. So our mutual
business ended. Despite initial difficulties it had helped me establish the farm, Und
I now had to find a new line of business.

Meeting Resistance
Administration in Egypt was extremely complicated and tedious in those days
when I was trying to start the initiative, as indeed it still is now. One time, für
Beispiel, I was supposed to explain biodynamic agriculture and composting to the
Egyptian agricultural ministry. When they read my explanations, they decided to
ban the project on the spot. What had I done wrong? After I questioned them per-
sistently they revealed that according to my description bacteria multiply in the
compost, and they were worried that we would infest the whole country. Sie
could not permit something so irresponsible. It took weeks to correct this disas-
trous mistake, even to get the professors and administrators back together to nego-
tiate. Then I was told I did not know anything about agriculture as I was not a
farmer.

So I had to argue, provide literature, and explain the process of composting
exactly. I started studying throughout the night so I could offer them answers. Von
the morning I had all the answers ready and gradually I was able to persuade more
and more people to trust me on the topic of composting. But I had to work on
each person separately! I learned a lot during this process. But the decision was still
postponed. In der Zwischenzeit, I continued working on my project in the desert, until one
day the police arrived, saying, “You are not allowed to continue working!” They
declared it was not clear yet whether permission would be granted at all.

For nearly 12 months I had to struggle with huge difficulties, until it all sud-
denly changed. The ministry let me know they would send inspectors to the farm

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Garden in the Desert

to see how the soil evolved after treating it with compost. A scientist came and
took a sample of soil to analyze. This process was repeated regularly over ten years.
In the end that was the best thing that could have happened, as the ministry could
see our methods improv-
ing the soil a bit at a time.
I won many friends at the
ministry and never tired of
talking to them about my
ideas and vision for the
country.

Tiere,

Despite all the resist-
ance, my vision of an oasis
in the desert from which I
für
could draw water
plants,
Und
humans, slowly began to
take shape. Gradually all
the tasks were working
well together. The trees we
had planted were three
years old and had grown
to a good height; Die
greedy goats could no
longer reach them.

Despite all the resistance, Mein
vision of an oasis in the desert
from which I could draw water
for plants, Tiere, and humans,
slowly began to take shape…
But one morning, when I drove to
the farm from Cairo as usual, ICH
could not believe the sight I saw:
bulldozers were pulling down
thousands of trees. I was met by
soldiers with machine guns and
suspicious expressions. I found
out that a general had ordered our
grounds to be made into a
military area.

But one morning,
when I drove to the farm
from Cairo as usual, ICH
could not believe the sight
I saw: bulldozers were
pulling down thousands
of trees. I was met by sol-
diers with machine guns
and suspicious expressions. I found out that a general had ordered our grounds to
be made into a military area, even though it was only through our efforts that there
was even a water supply on our land. They wanted me to leave without further
negotiations. This felt like a declaration of war! My violent temper emerged, Und
for the moment I managed to stop further destruction by protesting loudly and
standing fast. But I had to go to Cairo to start diplomatic and political negotiations
to obtain a more long-term solution.

I had already had to spend days in Cairo setting up the administration office.
Now I had to abandon my direct work in the desert for a time and fight to contin-
ue my project. Anwar Sadat, the president of Egypt, was a good friend I had got-
ten to know during our adolescence, so I went to see him. In the government

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Ibrahim and Helmy Abouleish

palace I also met the minister Shabaan, who headed the office of then Deputy
President Hosni Mubarak. I explained everything that had happened, and he
promised to help me. I was so angry and upset that I made everyone’s life miser-
able and repeatedly visited or phoned the minister to hurry up on the resolution.
Trotzdem, it took weeks before all the military machinery was removed.

The concept of compensation does not exist in Egypt; the best one can hope
for after a mistake has been made is an apology. The responsible general apolo-
gized for his behavior and took sole responsibility for it. I accepted his apology.
Later he was transferred to another area. His successor, General Ali Siku, immedi-
ately became my friend. We visited each other and became acquainted. Zusammen
we established a cooperative with single plots of land for officers on three thou-
sand hectares of desert. I had discovered that this had been the original plan of the
transferred general, and he had wanted me out so he could implement his idea on
my land. Now I followed up this idea and discussed it with Ali Siku. I explained
that it was not necessary to start this venture on the same land I occupied and had
made fertile. Eventually we agreed on this point and became good neighbors. ICH
helped him establish the cooperative materially and conceptually. The land sur-
rounding Sekem was divided into small plots of five to ten hectares for each offi-
cer. The green cultivated countryside visible today around Sekem belongs to this
cooperative.

Despite the opposition, I also experienced moments that gave me courage and
spurred me on. Since adolescence I have done regular spiritual work, which gave
me great spiritual energy. I always had a deep inner desire to observe the times of
prayer and to meditate on the verses of the Koran, particularly the 99 names of
Allah. After I encountered anthroposophy, I started studying it along with contin-
uing my meditations and prayers. I read that for some people, everyday life con-
stitutes a more or less unconscious “initiation,” and that suffering, disappoint-
ment, and failure can be seen as a chance to strengthen our courage and inner
steadfastness. Then I felt that the obstacles I encountered were not sent to destroy
me but to steel my resolve. Such resistance must be met with greatness of soul and
continual energy.

The presence of nature also gave me strength. The dark green leaves of the
trees were gradually starting to enliven the desert grounds around the farm. ICH
could always find beauty to admire: sunrises and sunsets, sparkling stars in the
night sky, or glittering dew drops on the leaves. I observed that we had more
insects and birds on the farm, attracted by the trees and our good treatment of the
earth. I felt Allah’s creative omnipresence through bird calls and animal sounds,
smells and the wind, and in the blossoming and flourishing around me. The Koran
relates how Adam and Eve lived in paradise before satanic whispers led them to the
forbidden tree and they were expelled. But the Koran promised to return the
Garden of Eden to believers as a most beautiful reward for their devoutness—the
god-fearing will live forever in gardens. “Gardens, in which rivers flow” are men-
tioned more than 30 times in the Koran. The greatest source of joy for people liv-

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Garden in the Desert

ing in arid surroundings is green gardens, with shady oases and flowers and trees.
It also gave me the greatest fulfilment to watch Sekem flourish.

Export-Led Growth
I was sitting in my office when a lively, active businessman from the Greek part of
Cyprus introduced himself to my secretary. Soon he told me about a project that
he had set up in my birthplace, Mashtul, in Egypt: “I have transformed vast areas
of land into a vegetable producing venture, built a packing house, and bought
refrigerated vehicles that deliver the fresh produce to the airport. From there they
are flown to England.”

“Very good, Herr. Takis. And is there a problem?”
“All the Egyptian banks have advised me to enter into a partnership with

Sekem.”

“Why?”
“Because we people from Cyprus do not know how to deal with the way

Egyptians work, and have suffered financial losses for years because of it!”

Up to that point he had tried to run his business exclusively with workers from
Cyprus. I thought about it: So far Sekem had only produced fresh foods for its own
use. Should we start trading in fresh produce? Listening to him, I realized that he
had been doing something I had always wanted to do: sell fresh produce. Endlich,
I asked him, “How do you cultivate the vegetables?”

“With artificial fertilizers and pesticides, of course.”
“Where do you get your seeds from?”
“They are hybrid seeds from England.”
Now two souls were struggling within me. On the one hand, this man had
experience in marketing fresh produce. Auf dem anderen, I objected to the chemical
methods he used. I made a quick decision to go with the project. His experience
was the decisive factor. Everything else could be tackled later.

Helmy travelled to Mashtul to look around Mr. Takis’s business. He was hor-
rified when he came back. “It’s not a food business!” he exclaimed. “It’s just arti-
ficial fertilizers and pesticides.”

I replied, “Then we’ll have to transform it into an organic farm.”
Together we founded the Libra Company, in which Sekem had a 50% share.
We gained much valuable information about logistics and customer care from our
partner. Herr. Takis often came to visit Sekem, and we showed him the biodynam-
ic way of farming and its effects on the health of humans and the earth. He also
saw the damage conventional farming did to the earth and the plants—but the
businessman in him saw profits. In his opinion, organic farming made the prod-
ucts prohibitively expensive.

I asked Mr. Takis to travel to England to find out about the market for organ-
ic produce there. At first he refused, but eventually he was persuaded, although he
returned without much enthusiasm. In the meantime I met with Volkert
Engelsmann, our Dutch business partner, and asked him, “What would you think

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Ibrahim and Helmy Abouleish

if we started producing fresh organic vegetables?” He answered, “That would be
great!” So I asked George Merckens, an expert in biodynamic farming, to come
visit us; we discussed how to establish a business with fresh organic vegetables.
Then we started cultivating vegetables on the other farms belonging to Sekem.

Despite all our previous learning and observing, this enterprise became costly.
Erste, it was hard to get seeds for the kinds of vegetables customers wanted. Dann
the yield was about one half of what we calculated because of adjustments we had
to make. We also had to inspect for insects frequently. And a sandstorm raged over
the farm for a few days, tearing the greenhouse apart and destroying all our work.
During this time Helmy travelled all over the county providing advice to farm-
ers. Our deficits grew, just because we had decided to do business with fresh
organic vegetables without sufficient farming experience. But we wanted to set an
example for Egypt, to prove it was possible to produce organic food here. Jeder
time something went wrong, or we looked at the figures, we clapped our hands
together in a friendly way and chanted, “We will manage! We can continue and we
will not give up!” Sometimes we would joke, “If only we had a factory making
screws. We could be millionaires by now with the amount of time and energy
we’ve invested in this project!” We remained certain throughout. With that
amount of commitment, our good spirits would not abandon us.

We founded a new company for the fresh food enterprise: Hator. This branch
of our venture, we realized from previous experience, would need a logistics genius
to manage it, someone who could also assert himself. This person would have to
make sure that the produce was delivered from the fields at a certain time so it
could be cleaned and packed in time to be shipped. Gleichzeitig, the neces-
sary customs documents had to be presented to ensure that the produce would get
to the ships and airplanes to Europe as planned—or, alternatively, be delivered
daily to Egyptian grocers. The coordination had to be performed with military
precision to avoid the great financial losses caused by spoiled food.

Endlich, my wife Gudrun started managing Hator, as she had experience with
novel and challenging tasks. She taught the employees, um 70 young girls, mit
untiring commitment and dedication. Her training courses were held in Mahad,
our center for adult education founded in 1987. There she taught the hygienic
measures necessary for dealing with food, starting with washing hands, wearing
Handschuhe, and using special protective clothing and hats. She checked the quality of
the vegetables the farmers delivered, and made sure they were cooled correctly. Sie
also ensured that all the necessary processes were performed in swift sequence.

Eventually we ended our partnership with Mr. Takis by mutual agreement, als
he wanted to follow his own business. We were grateful to have learned about the
requirements of marketing fresh produce from him, and we still remain in friend-
ly contact.

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Garden in the Desert

A Successful Demonstration
One day pesticide tests performed on our medicinal plants showed traces of
residues. We were rightly outraged. Where did these pesticides come from? Wir
were certainly not using them. After excluding a whole range of possibilities we
finally realized that they had been sprayed onto our fields by the dusting planes
that were applying pesticides to neighboring cotton fields up to 20 times a season.
Once I realized this, I complained to the Minister of Agriculture. “We want to
cultivate organic produce on our farms without using poisons,” I said, “and you
are destroying our efforts. We are powerless against crop dusting!”

He looked at me with astonishment: “What do you want me to do? Is there an

alternative?”

“Stop spraying the pesticides!” I said.
“Do you know what will happen if we do that?” he asked. Only then did I real-

ize that this man was in a difficult position with the chemical companies.

I discussed the problem with Helmy and Georg Merckens and asked Georg
whether he knew of an organic method to protect the cotton plants. He advised us
to study the insects that harmed the plants and to learn their way of life. We asked
an entomologist to explain the behavior of the insects in question and to find stud-
ies of their developmental stages. Then we asked several scientists how we could
stop these insects from multiplying, using organic methods.

Two Egyptian scientists, DR. El Araby and Dr. Abdel Saher, helped us by start-
ing to examine the test fields we had prepared for this purpose. They soon correct-
ed the problem, and in a short time the insects were doing less damage than on
conventionally cultivated fields being sprayed with chemicals.

Once we had weighed our first harvest, we found we had a 10% higher yield of
raw cotton than the average in the area. This was a result to be proud of, and we
attributed it to our methods of biodynamic farming that enlivened the earth and
enhanced plant growth.

Once we thought we had solved the problem, and thought that dusting pesti-
cides over the fields was superfluous, we sent out invitations to the world’s first
international organic cotton conference, held in Cairo. About 120 specialists
attended. As part of the conference they were able to visit the nearest of the 19 bio-
dynamically farmed cotton fields during the harvesting process. Egyptian televi-
sion also attended and broadcasted a very positive report. People greatly admired
our success. The agricultural minister had followed our progress with interest and
arrived at the conference with his staff. In his speech he said something to this
Wirkung: “You have my great admiration for your efforts. But who knows if you can
achieve such success again. First you will need to prove your results more than
once!” So, we had to continue testing our methods of controlling pests. Every year
the minister chose some of the most polluted areas on a map and said if our meth-
ods succeeded there, he could make his decision. I thought he was acting as a
responsible person.

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Ibrahim and Helmy Abouleish

The testing fields were spread out across all of Egypt; Helmy spent all his time
travelling. The fields had to be supervised day and night, and he had to be on site
if quick action became necessary. Helmy’s efforts alone would not have sufficed
without the support of his wife, Konstanze, whom I greatly valued. Because of her
upbringing she saw leisure time as important. But here she had to live with the
opposite. She and their four children had to get along without Helmy for long
periods of time; often he
would only come home late at
night, exhausted.

The minister kept his word and
reacted with courage, ordering
the planes to stop applying
pesticides to the fields. First an
area of 200,000 hectares was
cultivated completely without
pesticides. Dann, one year later,
this area was expanded to
400,000 hectares, welche
incorporated the entire extent
of cotton cultivation in Egypt.

After three years we had
finished testing and were able
to present the results. Der
minister kept his word and
reacted with courage, ordering
the planes to stop applying
pesticides to the fields. First an
area of 200,000 hectares was
cultivated completely without
pesticides. Dann, one year
später, this area was expanded to
400,000 hectares, which incor-
porated the entire extent of
cotton cultivation in Egypt.
Organic methods of control-
ling the cotton plant pests were
employed in the entire coun-
versuchen.

It is hardly possible to
describe the repercussions of this decision. The chemical industry could no longer
deposit 35,000 tons of pesticides on the fields each growing season. The people
involved had opposed organic cultivation and had gotten the press involved. Wir
took it with equanimity, reacting calmly to any bad news. I believe the attacks we
had to withstand could have destroyed our community. I will describe one partic-
ularly harsh attack later.

We had succeeded in several ways. Erste, one of the most poisonous chemicals
had been banned. DR. El Beltagy of the state agricultural research institution said
in a speech that even if the United Nations had decided that Egypt should practice
pesticide-free cultivation, they would not have succeeded in implementing it.
Darüber hinaus, the scientists in all the universities of the country would never have
come to an agreement on the matter. It was solely the effort and willpower of the
Sekem community that achieved this healing act for the country.

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Garden in the Desert

The “Sun Worshippers”
Before the government banned the practice of crop-dusting planes applying pesti-
cides over the cotton fields, it had established contracts with the crop-dusting
companies and the chemical industry. These contracts prevented the Minister of
Agriculture from agreeing to our demands to stop the spraying after the first year.
But after three years, once we had demonstrated a viable organic alternative on our
test fields, he cancelled the contracts. This was a courageous step. Some people in
the ministry were still saying that we were destroying the country. Naturally we
tried to counteract this view by explaining our work. But during this time I often
prayed silently that everything would turn out well!

A few weeks later, articles started appearing in the large daily papers in Cairo
that declared that only the rich profited from organic farming, as they were the
only ones who could afford the expensive prices. This was all highly exaggerated.
Other articles stated that not even the people of rich industrial countries could
afford organic produce—and if even they could not, then poor countries certain-
ly could not. How could hundreds of millions of people in the world be fed if the
crops were not improved by artificial fertilizer? Organic farming was declared to
be a loser’s method. We were even accused of wanting to let people starve. Sekem
was mentioned by name in many articles and I received anonymous threatening
phone calls. But there were also encouraging voices that said, “Don’t give up! You
are doing good work!”

There was a general atmosphere of conflict across the country, and the subject
became widely discussed, which could only be good in the long run. We noticed
that the attacks did not influence the sales of our companies’ products, sogar
though they were supposed to damage our reputation. We were called an “elitist
company,” supposedly only catering to Germans.

We were able to cope with all the attacks until one day an extensive article
appeared in the local paper with the title “The Sun-Worshippers.” A journalist had
visited Sekem without our knowledge and had photographed us standing in a cir-
cle on a Thursday afternoon, at our end-of-week assembly. He asked what we were
doing, and then answered it himself: we were worshipping the sun! He had pho-
tographed the Round House, and mentioned other round shapes in and in front
of the company buildings. According to him they were all symbols of the sun!
Endlich, he cited a man from the education authority:

DR. Abouleish stood in front of the class and asked the children, “‘Who
is your God?” The children truthfully answered, “Allah!” Then he told
ihnen, "NEIN, not Allah. I am your Allah!” I experienced this myself…

These were all lies from the supposed education inspector.

For Muslims, worshipping the sun is like worshipping Satan for Europeans.
People were indignant, in turmoil. Something like that in their country! Sekem
workers were harassed: “Is it true? Are you sun worshippers?” Stones were thrown
at us. The article circulated throughout Egypt.

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Ibrahim and Helmy Abouleish

Then I got a telephone call from the head of the secret state security police,
who invited me in for a visit. When I entered his office I saw the article lying on
his desk. He pointed to it, and asked, laughing: “What do you say to that stuff?”
Because I did not know his view I waited in silence. He continued: “We here know
that not a word of the accusations against you is true. But I advise you to defend
yourself and take legal action against these people. You cannot let them get away
with these accusations!” Now I had proof of what I had always assumed: like all
large companies, Sekem also
had spies from the state
secret services placed among
its workers, because the state
feared fundamentalists. I fol-
lowed his advice and started
a court case against the
Papier, knowing well it would
take years.

[T]he prayer leaders in the
mosques around Sekem started
to stir up animosity toward us,
spreading the word that we did
not worship Allah, but the sun…
I began to fear that the chemical
companies had won after all.

Based on this article, Die
Die
prayer
mosques
around Sekem
started to stir up animosity
toward us, spreading the
word that we did not worship
Allah, but the sun. Among their worshippers were Sekem workers, who knew this
was not true. But nobody would be allowed to stand up in front of all the people
and say something against the imam! I began to fear that the chemical companies
had won after all.

Führer

Should we fight against the animosity, or choose another way, one that was
peaceful and took the wind out of the enemy’s sails? I decided on the latter course.
I entrusted 10 of my staff members with the task of inviting to Sekem all of the
people mentioned in the article, as well as the mayor and influential sheiks of the
Bereich. We fixed a date and I stressed that everyone was responsible for ensuring that
the people assigned to them actually came. On the chosen Thursday I met up with
them in the Mahad. They entered, a large group of men in long flowing gowns. ICH
welcomed them, offering my hand to shake, which they did unwillingly. But I
stayed calm. Once everyone was seated, I asked a sheik to read a verse from the
Koran, which he did with his beautiful voice. Once he had finished, I beckoned
Sekem musicians into the room to play a Mozart serenade. Suddenly a man
jumped up furiously, banged his fist on the back of the chair, and shouted, “We
will not listen to this work of the devil!” While the musicians bravely continued
playing, I walked up to him and said, “Calm down and listen.” After that episode
all the visitors let these “terrible” sounds wash over them.

Once the musicians had left the room I invited the men to express themselves.
One stood up and shouted, “Music and art are forbidden in Islam. The Prophet

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Garden in the Desert

said so!” I calmly asked, “Does it say so in the Koran?” “No,” he replied, “the
Prophet said it!” I answered, “I believe every word in the Koran, and also those of
the Prophet. I only need to see it first!” He said, I’ll bring it to you.” I replied,
“Good, I’ll wait until you bring it!” This is how the meeting started. The atmos-
phere was terribly strained and threatened to escalate out of control at any
moment.

Because of the questions, I started telling them that Allah had chosen human
beings out of all of his creations to be his successor. Some of them nodded, Weil
I verified everything I said with verses from the Koran, quoting them by heart.
Allah says, “We are responsible for the earth, the plants, and the animals.” Allah
had initially given responsibility to the heavens and the mountains, but they had
abgelehnt. It was too much for them. Only the humans took it upon themselves.
Now I continued talking about the dead and living Earth. As is written in the
Koran, “Allah is the divider of the seed kernel and the fruit kernel. He can pull the
living out of the dead and the dead out of the living.” (6.95).

Now I experienced the difficulty I had already frequently met when training
the farmers. These people were used to understanding the words from the Koran
in an abstract sense and tended not to think of concrete examples when listening
to them. I now showed them, using appropriate examples, what these verses full of
images could mean for their practical life. I explained about the millions of micro-
organisms and their work in the earth and told them that the living earth was con-
nected to the heavens. Then I quoted the Koran again: “The sun and the moon
pursue their ordered course. Then plants and the trees bow down in adoration. Er
raised the heaven on high and set the balance of all things, that you might not
transgress it. Do not disrupt the equilibrium and keep the right measure and do
not lose it.” (55.5-9).

Then I asked: “How can we assist in this connection to the heavens? What is
the essence of a plant? Is it just a seed we place in the earth, or does this seed receive
life from Allah, so that out of it all the different types of plants can grow? Weil
Allah says, It is not you who cultivates, but Allah who cultivates. He lets the plants
grow!”

As I talked, I paused briefly to allow time for questions. Then I spoke about
biodynamic farming, about the composting process and preparations for it. ICH
described exactly how this process enlivens the soil. I explained how we wait for
specific starting constellations before we plant; thus we are inspired by Allah to act
correctly. Then I led the discussion toward the arrogance of science, which states
that it is only physical substances that allow plants to grow, and not Allah. Weil
of this people use artificial fertilizers and chemical poisons, ignoring their effects
on people’s health and the consequences of insect infestation.

Suddenly one of the men stood up, came to me and hugged and kissed me. ICH
noticed that another one had tears in his eyes. What had touched these conven-
tional men? Many were shaken by the concreteness by which one could under-

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Ibrahim and Helmy Abouleish

stand the verses of the Koran. They obviously felt that my explanations had deeply
acknowledged their religion.

Over the course of the day, the grim bearded men who had arrived in the
morning became my guests. They said their farewells heartily and with deep feel-
ing. I knew they would meet again on Friday in the mosques and would spread the
word about the mistake they had made. I let them go with words from the Koran,
“If someone comes to you and tells a rumor, then do not believe them, but verify
it yourself.” They passed this message on exactly. They explained that Islam lives
deeply in Sekem, as nowhere else in the country. And to commemorate their visit
they gave us a plaque, written in beautiful calligraphy in golden letters: “That the
community of sheiks verifies that Sekem is an Islamic initiative. The plaque now
hangs in the entrance area of the school.

Creating Institutions: “New ways of working together”
Shortly before my 49th birthday I became seriously ill for the first time in my life.
This development seems quite obvious to me in retrospect, after seven years of
establishing a venture and rarely getting enough sleep. All the years I had worked
out of a feeling that I needed to give the Sekem initiative enough of my excessive
Energie. Now I realized I had limits.

On the night of March 21, I awoke with a stabbing pain somewhere near my
heart and had difficulty breathing. I was taken to hospital immediately; the presi-
dent of the General Medical Council, a cardiologist, was my friend. He was called,
but the examination revealed no acute danger. Trotzdem, I could hardly breathe and had
to depend on oxygen.

After three weeks I could take my first steps. Every day I managed to walk one
step further. Gradually I was able to forget all the difficulties that had placed such
terrible pressure on my soul. Between late March and June I recovered. I spent a
week in the Black Forest and learned to live and breathe again.

Then I received a phone call from Graz. An old friend involved in medicinal
research asked urgently for help and advice. I called my friends Elfriede and Hans:
“See, I can dance again, let me fly!” Eventually they agreed. So I flew from Stuttgart
to Graz via Vienna.

But during the first flight I suffered another heart attack and on arrival was
immediately taken to the intensive care ward of the nearest hospital in Vienna. ICH
could hardly speak when I awoke, but I let a doctor I knew in Vienna know about
my condition and he came to look after me at once. Nobody else knew where I
War. The tests showed a heart thrombosis; the doctors said I needed surgery imme-
diately, or at least a catheter examination. But I refused both of these options and
only wanted to lie still and be looked after.

Now I was seriously at the edge. My whole lifestyle would have to change if I
wanted to remain alive. I would never be able to work again in the same way: I felt
terribly weak. Internally, I started to take leave of Sekem, my family, my friends,
alles. After three days my Viennese friends managed to get in touch with my

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Garden in the Desert

friends Elfriede and Hans in Oschelbronn; they flew to Vienna immediately. Sie
supported my decision to refuse the operation. Hans looked after me using special
medicines. When I could travel again, I returned to the clinic in Oschelbronn in a
specially reserved train compartment. My recovery began anew.

After six months of recuperation, my friends took me back to Sekem. Helmy
had taken over my duties, with close help from Gudrun and Mona, and had grown
into the task. In a meeting with all the staff, I described my illness and the experi-
ences involved. Afterwards an Egyptian employee jumped up and spontaneously
hugged Hans, thanking him in the name of all the other workers for restoring
“their doctor.” After my illness, we decided to reorganize the entire initiative and
lay a new foundation stone. The stone-laying ceremony was accompanied by
music and recitations from the Koran. Everyone present and involved in the proj-
ect signed the foundation stone document and then the stone was lowered into the
central room of the Round House. It was all very festive. Everyone was aware of
the importance of this moment.

Humans Cannot Work Alone
I am often asked about the spiritual background of Sekem. Sekem developed out
of my own vision. My spiritual inspiration came out of very different cultures: A
synthesis between the Islamic world and European spirituality. I moved around
freely in these different areas as if in a great garden, picking the fruits of the differ-
ent trees. I would have felt restricted if I had to limit myself to one way of think-
ing. But I felt enough inner space for everything in myself.

But I am also aware that I am limited. After my death, the practices we have
established in Sekem will have to continue developing in an organic way. We need
people who can guide Sekem according to the original vision, and who understand
clearly why it was established.

A circle of people are entrusted with the actual running of Sekem. They con-
stitute the center of the venture and we call them the “Council of the Future.” One
task of this council is to maintain a living connection to the well of spiritual inspi-
ration. Another task is for them to experience the connection to others as enrich-
ment and completion. Darüber hinaus, every individual must be aware of all the others,
knowing their conditions and the tasks they are working on.

Another task is to be willing to continue learning. A defining factor of a func-
tioning shared leadership is that the people of the council have more knowledge of
the venture than the other employees. They know the background behind deci-
sionen; they are aware of the risks and sometimes also of the conditions that must
be met. The group can deal with these tasks courageously because of their trusting
work together. During the gradual development of Sekem, I always encountered
questionable situations and great risks, which I took upon myself because of my
trust in Allah’s leadership. But we can meet problems with more objectivity if we
look at them from different angles. Discussions with those inside and outside
Sekem, and the attitude that every problem has a solution, let people can grow and

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Ibrahim and Helmy Abouleish

work together. They become able to stand up consciously for the development of
people and the world. Their dealings are led by the same trust that carried me
alone at the beginning.

HELMY ABOULEISH: A HOLISTIC MODEL

Growing up with Sekem, I always saw principles in action, especially corporate
responsibility. At Sekem, the philosophy is all about human development; Nichts
else matters. Profit was never an end in itself.

Like others elsewhere, we at Sekem have learned that in the global economy,
you must be globally competitive. Über 20 years of working in the Sekem initia-
tiv, I have learned that human
development is a wonderful
strategy for achieving sustain-
ability and impact. In the long
Begriff, competitiveness is all
about human beings and indi-
vidual capacity. Workers whose
skills are developed in a learn-
ing-living situation are self-
motivated and eager to suc-
ceed. Right now, Sekem
employs 2,000 people in its
businesses and hundreds more
on the social side, serving some
40,000 people in the communi-
ty. We aim to develop our nat-
ural and human resources
together in an organic way: unser
holistic approach is integrally
linked to our drive to be global-
ly competitive and successful.

Like others elsewhere, we at
Sekem have learned that in the
global economy, you must be
globally competitive. Über 20
years of working in the Sekem
initiative, I have learned that
human development is a
wonderful strategy for achieving
sustainability and impact. Im
long term, competitiveness is all
about human beings and
individual capacity

I was always on the farm; Es
was always part of the adven-
tur. My attachment to the
farm grew by the day. When my father fell ill in 1984, I took over Sekem’s admin-
istration, marketing, and sales. Before that, I was a farmer, driving a tractor, Aber
then I had to go to banks. That changed everything. When he came back a year
später, we kept it as it was and he went to the farm.

The Sekem Development Foundation
Sekem today is comprised of two integrally linked elements. The business side is
made up of a number of distinct ventures, described above and summarized in

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Garden in the Desert

TEXT BOX 1. Sekem Companies

Isis

In 1983, Isis launched Sekem Herbs, its first line of herbal remedies. Now it pro-
duces and packs organically certified herbal teas, dairy products, oils, spices,
honey, dates, organic coffee, juices and conserves for consumers in Egypt and
abroad. It employs 230 people in its factory alone.

Hator

Established in 1996, Hator produces and packs fresh fruit and vegetables. Jeder
day employees pack about four tons of fresh tomatoes, beans, peppers, oranges,
grapes, usw.; large volumes of potatoes, onions, and oranges go to European mar-
kets via container ships.

Atos

ATOS, established in 1986 as a joint venture with the German Development
Bank and Dr. Schaette AG, brings physicians and pharmacists together to
research and develop medicines from natural sources. Qualified employees visit
Egyptian doctors to introduce those products and the concept of using safe and
effective plant-based drugs to treat medical conditions ranging from the com-
mon flu to complex urological and cardiovascular problems.

In 1992, ATOS secured a license agreement with the German firm Weleda to
manufacture and market natural cosmetics in Egypt. In 1997, the Sekem group
of companies received the ISO 9001 certification.

Libra

Established in 1988, Libra Egypt supplies the raw materials that the various
Sekem companies process and produce, arranging favorable long-term agree-
ments between cultivators and traders.

In 1994, Libra started to grow 1,000 acres of cotton biodynamically, based
on intensive cooperation between scientists, manufacturers, and farmers.
Trained and experienced advisors help small-scale farmers, visiting different
regions weekly to answer questions and solve urgent problems, such as insect
Entwicklung.

Naturetex

In collaboration with scientists and with Egyptian companies that spin, weave,
Farbstoff, and finish fabrics, Sekem developed ways to produce cotton fabrics without
using harmful chemicals. Daily, über 200 Naturetex workers use state-of-the-art
machinery to produce up to 3000 pieces of high-quality clothing for babies and
Kinder, mostly for export to the U.S. and Germany.

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Ibrahim and Helmy Abouleish

TEXT BOX 2. The Sekem Development Foundation

The Sekem Development Foundation (SDF) makes its services available to all
local people so they can improve their lives in meaningful ways, moving the
entire community towards development. In focuses on three development sec-
tors: Ausbildung, Gesundheit, and economics.

Educational Programs

The Sekem School, founded in 1989, lies about 30 miles northeast of Cairo on
the fringe of the desert. It serves 300 kindergarten, primary, and secondary stu-
dents of all social levels, mostly local. It enrolls Muslim and Christian children
alike, encouraging them to live in harmony and to respect one another’s reli-
gious practices.

Approved by the Egyptian Ministry of Education, the school uses the
Egyptian state curriculum but also promotes new forms of pedagogical and
social interaction to nurture children socially, culturally, and intellectually. Daher
it also offers courses in crafts, Theater, tanzen, Bewegung, und Musik.

Though child labor is illegal in Egypt, it is widespread, involving about
1,600,000 children under age 14. In Beantwortung, Sekem designed the Chamomile
Children Project, Wo 80 Kinder, gealtert 12 and up, work on the Sekem farm,
but under excellent conditions. For about half the work day, specially trained
teachers and social workers provide classes in reading, writing, singing, Geschichte,
religion, and the arts. This gives children a genuine opportunity to pass the pri-
mary school exams, which they need in order to start formal vocational training.
This education is also holistic, nourishing their minds, bodies, and souls. Der
children do well on the exams; many become regular employees, often working
in agriculture or textiles. It shows that children who have had a poor start can
still shine and contribute to society, if given a fair chance.

Text Box 1. Phytopharmaceuticals, organic health food and garments made from
organic cotton are the most important products these companies develop, Profi-
duce, and sell.

Very strong growth on the business side has allowed Sekem to develop a cul-
tural and social dimension to its activities, organized through the Sekem
Development Foundation (SDF), a private nonprofit organization founded by my
father in 1984 under the name “Egyptian Society for Cultural Development.” [Sehen
description in Text Box 2.] In addition to funds from the business side of Sekem,
the SDF’s program activities are supported by a variety of organisations and
donors, private, governmental and non-governmental, local and international.

The mission of the SDF is “To elevate the total welfare of the Egyptian people
by enabling them to determine and realize their own socially unique and cultural-
ly appropriate development path.” The foundation strives to create culturally and

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Garden in the Desert

The Handicapped Children Program supports children with all types of dis-
abilities so they can exercise their full rights as independent human beings.
Many individuals with disabilities have been successfully integrated into
Sekem’s various workplaces.

The Adult Education Center provides literacy training (reading and writ-
ing), English language classes (incorporating computer literacy), computer
Ausbildung, and courses on hygiene in the workplace, as well as arts, Musik, Und
sports. It also offers seminars and lectures.

Health Care Activities
SDF’s modern Medical Center, located on the Sekem farm, can offer compre-
hensive health care services to more than 120 patients per day, including local
residents. Doctors skilled in a dozen specialties treat eye problems, skin diseases,
internal ailments, infectious and endemic diseases, usw. A fully-equipped phar-
macy is next door. The clinic also provides education on all aspects of public
Gesundheit, including environmental health, women’s health issues, family planning,
and sanitation practices. Its outreach program, involving its mobile clinic and
several social workers, provides modern health care and educational programs
Zu 30,000 rural people.

Economic Activities
The Vocational Training Program provides young people with specific skills for
self-employment in a labor market with few opportunities. Each year 50 trainees
begin a two-to-three year program that guides them in every aspect of their cho-
sen profession; when they graduate they are skilled enough to start their own
business or find work. They can train in such areas as carpentry, electrical instal-
lation, textile production technology, and general administration. Short courses
offer training to local adults who want to start or enlarge their own businesses.

socially legitimate forms of development that contribute to local, National, region-
al, and international development. Thus it serves as both a local and a global
model of sustainable development.

Egypt’s problems are numerous and interrelated. Overpopulation, environ-
mental degradation, and lack of adequate education, health care or awareness all
combine to constrain Egypt’s inherent dynamism and potential. Neither the
health nor the education systems have been able to keep pace with the present
population growth rate of 2.2% (or one million more people every eight months).
In particular, the educational facilities are severely overstrained. Schools are
overcrowded and lack resources, often accommodating three shifts of children per
day. The overall illiteracy rate of 26.6% for urban areas and 56.9% for rural areas
continues to be one of the highest in the Middle East. Training and vocational pro-
grams are insufficient to meet the demand. Structural unemployment primarily

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Ibrahim and Helmy Abouleish

afflicts those lacking appropriate education and skills. The official unemployment
rate in Egypt is 9.8%, although World Bank estimates place this figure as high as
17.5%.

Community health is another major challenge in Egypt, especially for the
poor. Access to adequate health care, while ostensibly universal, does not exist in
many marginal and rural communities. Exacerbating this situation are extremely
low levels of health awareness. Folglich, many diseases and conditions that
are easily curable or preventable with proper education and facilities are endemic.
Agriculture still accounts for 40% of employment and yet remains the least
developed sector within the economy. The use of non-organic agricultural meth-
ods has contributed to chronic environmental degradation, severely impairing the
productivity of agricultural land. Folglich, the cost of production has
increased while the resource base has shrunk. In der Zwischenzeit, Egypt has become one
of the world’s largest importers of food.

Human development has many
facets, including the social,
cultural and economic spheres
des Lebens. The activities of the
Sekem Development
Foundation are founded on the
belief that society’s problems
cannot be tackled in isolation.

Human development has
many facets, einschließlich der
sozial, cultural, and econom-
ic spheres of life. The activi-
ties of the SDF are founded
on the belief that society’s
problems cannot be tackled
in isolation. Entsprechend, Die
SDF’s development method-
ology stresses
Integration.
The process of community
development must be viewed
as a totality composed of a
interrelated
multitude of
components such as literacy
Ausbildung, vocational training,
and primary health care. Since communities act as holistic units, targeting any sin-
gle activity runs counter to the conception of integrated development. Daher, any
one component of the SDF’s activities is but one element of an all-embracing com-
prehensive strategy.

Speaking from a National Platform
In 2004 the position of executive director of Egypt’s Industrial Modernization
Center (within the Ministry of Trade and Industry) became open. I had about a
half hour to decide whether to take it on. Someone has to do it, and a public-pri-
vate partnership as a model for strategy can function well. I accepted

Egypt has 20 million young people in its workforce. In 2025, that figure will
swell to 40 Million. It’s starting from 800,000 new entrants to the job market each
year now and going to 1.2 million a year. Studying the best-practice examples of

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Garden in the Desert

Malaysia and Eastern Europe and studying job creation in Egypt, I see no sectors
other than those related to industry that will absorb these workers.

Industry must be the agent of growth. Im Augenblick, Egypt creates about 350,000
new jobs per year. The partial breakdown is about 75,000 in industry, 65,000 In
agriculture, 60,000 in services, Und 150,000 in to the public sector. Every job cre-
ated in industry will create one job in services.

This became clearer to me when I was on the board of the Industrial
Modernization Center (IMC). I went back to Rachid Mohamed, the Minister of
Trade and Industry, and said, “We have to do something. We must promote
industrial development and therefore be able to grow faster.” The industry was
slowing down because it was always lower than GDP growth.

Through industrial growth, investment will increase. Through the IMC, ich hatte
to push industrial growth, through FDI and exports. It was clear what we were
going to do. It’s easy to get industry to improve with a business community taking
an active role in the IMC.

We grant assistance to companies based on their ability to export. Out of
10,000, um 800 are able to export. As soon as the market opens, the other com-
panies will leave the market because places like China and India will come in to it.
This is a clear message that has never been delivered.

Our capacity at the IMC has increased tenfold in the last eight months since I
took office. If over the last year they secured 400 Firmen, we will serve 3,400
Firmen. They were acquiring 25 new companies per month; we are serving 250
per month. The companies are only paying 15% of their development investment.
We have pledged the other 85%.

Our immediate challenge is to provide land and infrastructure. In just a few
weeks, we had over 600 requests from international investors in places like Qatar,
Japan, China, and Turkey. They wanted land where they could set up whole
industrial parks. We must focus on the sectors that create the most jobs, inkl-
ing textiles, food, building, engineering, and furniture. Jetzt, the IMC is exactly the
idea these companies need. Invest in your people. The only competitive advantage
we have is our people.

The biggest challenge is not the capability. Egyptians own and run very suc-
cessful companies that are competitive with anyone in the world. The perception
I’m fighting is that changing the path of development is a task for someone else or
for the government. The perception now is that it’s big brother’s responsibility to
feed and educate, find the right girl for you, find you a flat, and in the end to bury
Du. When you think this way, you can’t take the future of your country into your
own hands.

I’m very happy with the level of commitment top government officials have
shown, but this will need time to trickle down. The new cabinet is doing a lot to
help. Natürlich, some had reservations about the IMC; some people are still not
happy. I think this is natural; not everyone will agree, but we have more and more
companies joining, and I’m very happy with the results of new investments in

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Ibrahim and Helmy Abouleish

industry.

The same is true on the political level: those in power were not happy. Aber

these changes are the only hope, because the challenges are so great.

CONCLUSION

Sekem is a business. It is a community. It is a shared vision for Egypt and the
Welt. These three elements are not mutually exclusive. They are interconnected.
For us, the creation of a garden in the desert was a very tangible experience. Es
has taken 30 years to make a vision a reality: a place where we work, a place where
we greet visitors, and a place where we share and reflect.

But the garden, and the desert, are also metaphors. Wherever people are iso-
lated from one another and disconnected from their physical environment, A
desert exists. Wherever people do violence is to the land, or to other people, A
desert exists. The enduring garden that we have created at Sekem is the internal
garden that links each person in the Sekem community to each other, to our land,
and to all with whom we work.

1. This part of the narrative draws from a memoir written by Sekem’s founder, Sekem: A Sustainable

Community in the Egyptian Desert. Edinburgh, Vereinigtes Königreich: Floris Books (2005).

2. This part of the narrative draws from a May 2006 interview of Helmy Abouleish published in

Business Today-Egypt.

3. This philosophy is based upon the works of Rudolf Steiner.

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