Wi-Fi in the Wastelands

An exploratory trip to the desert sounds like a grand idea yet to settle there for life would be an extraordinary story in the making.

I journeyed three hours south on the Israeli highway, deep in the heart of the desolate Negev, to visit a community constructing a desert village.

A mile off the motorway and the only clue that a town existed at all was the ceaseless roaring of hard working labour.

The first completed structure was a mash-up of a town hall and synagogue. The surrounding dunes were spotted with webs made of scaffolding, each a future home. The townsmen had only just secured a steady water supply though they jested how Wi-Fi had arrived first.

Most of the villagers lived in set caravans a short walk away from the site. The leader of the village, Yonatan, invited me into his temporary portacabin which he shared with his wife and child.

Yonatan was a man of destiny. When he spoke about the town, his eyes sparkled, he stood taller and his voice couldn’t help but grin.

He reasoned that our travels often take us back to the beginning of civilisations, where all that remains are gnarled ruins or fragile tools.

Meeting him was to see first-hand the astounding perseverance of a group united in their purpose, who knew what they wanted and were actually doing something about it.

As night swept over, we clambered atop a nearby dune. Looking down, the white constructs sparkled in the clear moonshine, the Israeli deserts coarse sand shining if only for a moment.

Yonatan shared his vision, as he spoke years passed before my eyes, the scaffolding fell away and homes grew from the ground. He drew streets, cleared land. Time grew faster, decades cascading into one another.

The construction returned, sand super-heating, rising into elegant glass buildings, perhaps showing a reflection of what was to come.

I turned to sit down. Was the man insane? Ambitious? Most likely both but he knew what he wanted.

The desert cooled and Yonatan took me to the town hall. He pointed to each side, roamed each room and described the future centre as if he could see his world grow from just one spot.

The sun rose, chased by the flurry of work being done. It was time to leave and the empty road gave me plenty of space to ponder on the previous day.

The dull journey was championed by Yonatan’s words and in all my travels since I’ve been sure there was a person like him behind each wonder.

A leader, wanting to mark the world, so proud he wanted all to know it.