Jul 12, 2010
The kibbutz was, in its own way, a back-to-the-land movement, a way for disconnected young urbanites to renew their souls by reconnecting with the soil. So it shouldn’t be a surprise that kibbutzim have become leaders in the areas of organic farming and environmental technology, as well as eco-education. I saw evidence of this trend especially in the communities in the Arava Desert (Samar, Ketura and Lotan), although I was disappointed to learn that attempts to coordinate a national “green kibbutz movement” have essentially withered on the vine.
A recent Bloomberg article, however, did list a number of interesting kibbutz-based projects and cooperative business ventures in the field of environmental technology, alternative energy and organic farming. And a lot of people with whom I spoke saw promise in such environmental consciousness as a way of renewing the social-political mission of the original kibbutz pioneers.
Jul 12, 2010
Or at least long life on a kibbutz. That was one of the bits of evidence mentioned in a recent article in The Guardian about how to “age successfully”:
Longitudinal studies of ageing in Israeli kibbutzim are particularly revealing of the importance of continuity. Successful ageing was commoner if the elderly person felt they still had a working role and responsibility for their own health. The highly developed social networks proved effective at replacing the steady loss of peers. Hence, if a kibbutz closed and the person had to go and live in a conventional city, successful ageing was much less likely.
The study being cited is by Uriel Leviatan, of the University of Haifa, who I met last year and who gave a paper at the recent ICSA conference last month. Of course, the privatization of kibbutzim—as well as the neglect of some of the retirement-aged residents at poorer communities, as described in a recent Ha’Aretz exposé—may mean that kibbutz oldtimers, once the longest living amongst the already long-living Israelis (usually second only to the Japanese), may find their life expectancies regressing to the mean, as they feel their social connections and sense of purpose and contributions to the community decline.
Jul 7, 2010
I’m back in Victoria and starting to emerge from my jet-lag fog and feeling guilty about how far behind my blog is. I only got halfway through describing my trip, before our busy schedule (and erratic Internet access) kept me from updating. I probably should have Tweeted the trip instead! I’ll try to catch up and fill in the blanks of the last few weeks, which were as equally fascinating and inspiring as the first half of the trip. In the meantime, let me break down my journey by the numbers.
Days: 30
Kilometres driven: 2,942
Damage I did to rental car: $140 US
Kibbutzim visited: 23
Other intentional communities visited: 6
Swims in the ocean: only 1 (we were working!)
Humous and pita consumed: too much to count
Shoe stores visited in Jerry’s ultimate fruitless quest for the perfect man-sandals: 10+
Members of Parliament we interviewed: 1 (Haim Oron)
Heads of state who declined a meeting: 1 (Eli Avivi of Achzibland was under the weather)
A month in Israel: priceless
