Working at a Kibbutz?

Korn1 said:
Will you get a chance to travel a little? :)
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Well, it's work, so you don't get many breaks. Reason I ended up on a moshav was to make some cash so i could travel. Spent a few months doing hard labour and then travelled with my earnings :-)
 
assagai said:
Well, it's work, so you don't get many breaks. Reason I ended up on a moshav was to make some cash so i could travel. Spent a few months doing hard labour and then travelled with my earnings :-)
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lol what is one expected to do if you don't mind me asking?
 
Korn1 said:
lol what is one expected to do if you don't mind me asking?
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various manual tasks, endless days picking tomatoes, or grapes, or on special occasions, picking watermelons....
These places are commercial farms so the labour generally revolves around whatever products are being farmed/produced.
 
assagai said:
various manual tasks, endless days picking tomatoes, or grapes, or on special occasions, picking watermelons....
These places are commercial farms so the labour generally revolves around whatever products are being farmed/produced.
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Sweet :) How was the place you lived in?
 
Korn1 said:
Sweet :) How was the place you lived in?
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pretty basic flatlet with kitchen, accommodation is usually shared, i shared variously with some russians and some guys from thailand.
met some interesting people there, lots of travelers etc, people are quite sociable.
 
assagai said:
pretty basic flatlet with kitchen, accommodation is usually shared, i shared variously with some russians and some guys from thailand.
met some interesting people there, lots of travelers etc, people are quite sociable.
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Sorry last question :D What are the working hours like?
 
pm sent - I worked on a Kibbutz Dec 2009 until end Feb 2010
 
Korn1 said:
Just wondering....Im interested in doing it....what you guys rate?
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Edited from other posts
I lived for some time (a year) on a Kibbutz in Israel as a volunteer. There are different types. Agricultural (the original model) and more factory/commercial types (making stuff). For e.g. another Kibbutz derived part of their income by operating a restaurant and cable car for rich American tourists at the bottom of Masada. I was on an agricultural one (best kind IMO).

Travel
In your initial term (3 months) as a volunteer, you are entitled to go anywhere in Israel at kibbutz expense. In my kibbutz we hired a bus and my intake of volunteers voted on an ad hoc basis where to go. The bus driver took us there. We were accompanied by kibbutzniks hung about with machine guns for security ( Syrian border, etc.). If you stayed longer you could always go along but you couldn’t vote on destination. Volunteers always want to do the touristy bit. It gets tedious – I usually didn’t go. Occasionally we took some leave from the Kibbutz (and money) and went walkabout. I don’t think this is the usual procedure but after a while you are trusted not to abuse privileges.

In the insular environment of the Kubbutz, great interest was taken by us long-timers in new intakes of volunteers. One time there were only 4 males (1 gay) and the new intake was 30 uninhibited (90% Swedish) continental woman (not a single male). We licked our lips in anticipation (except for gayboy, who just regarded us sourly). We behaved like pigs.

Socialism
Communism does seem to work on this scale. The kibbutz is a communistic entity at this ‘micro’ level but goes head-to-head within the capitalistic framework on a national level. However, the kibbutzim model is failing, not because of a failure of socialism, but because they are losing young people (future kibbutzniks). Young people are being exposed to the ‘romance’ of the wider world via magazines and volunteers. They leave. An analogy might be a rural farm person who wants to experience the wider world.

Part of Israeli military service, is spending time on a kibbutz, in the hope of this ‘fresh blood’ choosing to stay. They are usually elite units (my kibbutz specialised in paratroopers). It is a continual battle between losing members and gaining fresh members. The battle is being lost.

Digression:
Young kibbutzniks going for their military service usually aim higher, a paratrooper is 2nd best (if you don’t make it in your selected unit). Many of them do – the units are small and the selection criteria must be really tough. However, young kibbutznics stand a better than average chance.
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