For a few hours every fortnight, a green oasis in an otherwise bland and rundown Tel Aviv neighborhood functions like a small state within a state, run on its own currency.

The Lira Shapira, named for the Shapira neighborhood and the Israeli lira, Israel’s official currency between 1952 and 1980, enables residents to buy fresh organic vegetables at a produce garden along with wares such as oils, soaps and bread — and even therapeutic treatments. All are offered by local craftspeople and entrepreneurs at stalls adjacent to the vegetable beds.

The Lira Shapira is distributed in exchange for organic waste dumped into containers located throughout the neighborhood, from which it is turned into compost. One kilogram (2.2 lbs) of waste earns one Lira and saves one shekel ($.34) in municipal waste treatment costs, according to Lira Shapira’s founder and board chairman, Perry Samnon.

It’s a win-win, he explains: The municipality gains by not having to transport organic waste to landfill sites, and the environment benefits because keeping organic waste out of landfills creates less methane, which is a major cause of global warming.

Residents are encouraged to adopt a more sustainable lifestyle, and, by earning vouchers, gain access to healthy, organic, locally-grown food or other products sold at a discount. They also meet their neighbors within the warm community setting of the garden, while local businesses find new customers.

Now, similar programs are being planned or implemented elsewhere in Israel.

Lira Shapira’s founder and board chairperson Perry Samnon poses with cucumbers at the Tel Hubbes garden in south Tel Aviv, May 28, 2026. (Sue Surkes/Times of Israel)In northern Israel, the Bat Galim neighborhood of Haifa hosts the ShtarGalim market — shtar means banknote in Hebrew — while........

© The Times of Israel