An Aesthetic Rural Environment: The Tefen Model of Rural Development

摘要

This paper presents the Tefen model of rural development in constrained circumstances. Tefen is a remote location in the Galilee, northern Israel, which until the founding of the industrial park in 1985 consisted largely of barren countryside. The original industrial park, now known as Tefen, was the enacted aspiration of a remarkable entrepreneur, Stef Wertheimer. The original model was so successful that it has been replicated in three other Israeli locations and plans are in hand to expand internationally to Turkey. The Tefen model is unique; inspired by vision, enabled by entrepreneurial drive, and contains elements of business incubator, industrial location, business advice centre, education, museum, art and culture components and a highly desirable place to live. It offers entrepreneurs a location, a home and a comprehensive support system. It encourages inclusion of minority groups, but not on any 'affirmative' basis; rather it tries to capture, shape and form their entrepreneurial potential. Interestingly it is a private, rather than a public initiative, although it is now partly supported by the government. The bold and radical conceptual underpinning is based on the idea of economic independence. At a macro level the argument is two-fold. Firstly, that Israel is isolated, both politically and geographically, and that true independence can only be achieved by economic attainment, and that this will be achieved through exporting. Secondly, if ethnic groups, Arabs, Druze and Jews can be economically integrated, working together, much of the racial tension would become irrelevant. At the micro level, enabling entrepreneurial talent, regardless of ethnicity, to flourish by finding its niche, will build a better society. Almost incidental tothese social, political and economic goals, the Tefen Park has brought development and prosperity to a remote rural area. New businesses; new products; new jobs have all been created by this entrepreneurial endeavor.