Being a volunteer in a kibbutz in Israel

Life in a kibbutz is much different from your ordinary life at home. In this Israeli human settlement it's all about living life together and working together. You can experience life in a kibbutz by engaging as a volunteer. Except for the fact that you learn what it is like to live in a kibbutz, it also gives you the chance to discover the beauty of Israel.

Living in a kibbutz; what does that mean? I experienced it myself. I would like to tell you what it's like to work as a volunteer in a kibbutz in Israel.

What is a kibbutz?

At the start of the 20th century, the first kibbutz was founded in Israel. A kibbutz is a human settlement, a village, mostly fenced by a barrier. Families live together in this village and they support themselves.

Kibbutz Metzer

In the end of the year 1999, I stayed in Kibbutz Metzer for a few months. This kibbutz is located close to the city of Hadera and the Arabic town Meiser. Kibbutz Metzer was founded in the fifties when over a hundred people from Argentina settled down in this particular part of Israel. They started a small factory in which they made plastic tubes. They also set up a banana plantation. They lived in small houses in their village and built a dining room to have communal meals. The men worked at the factory or the plantation (later on the Arabs from Meiser joined them) and the women took care of the meals and the laundry.  

Working as a volunteer - how to get there

If you consider working as a volunteer in a kibbutz, it's possible to arrange it at home. Just google and you will find different organisations which offer you their help. I did that too. They organize your flight, give you a list of names of people that are going to work as a volunteer too, so you can contact them and they give you the address of the volunteer organisation in Tel Aviv. After that, you have to take care of yourself!

I was lucky. The volunteer organisation in Tel Aviv found a kibbutz for me in just a few hours time. When we arrived at Kibbutz Metzer we were shown to our homes for our stay in Israel. The residents of the kibbutz built special homes for the volunteers. I had to share a room with another volunteer.

Working as a volunteer - an average day

Because of the fact that it's pretty hot in daytime, you mostly work in the morning. I was there in October, November and December. Every day temperatures went up to at least 30 degrees Celsius. There are different jobs for the volunteers: working at the banana plantation, cooking in the kitchen of the dining room, helping with the maintenance of the plot, folding laundry or milking the cows and cleaning the stables.

Every job has its own starting time. For example: I worked at the banana plantation for 3 weeks. My alarm clock went off at 5:30 am. Fifteen minutes later we left with the Arabs from Meiser who picked us up in their jeeps. At 7:30 am we drove back to the kibbutz to have breakfast. Breakfast was served as a buffet in the dining room. I am sure this must sound great to you, but at a certain moment you will be yearning for your simple home breakfast. After breakfast work started again untill about 1:00 pm. Then it would be time for lunch in the dining room, followed by a shower and a few hours of sleep.

Most of the volunteers would get together at the end of the afternoon, when the sun wasn't so hot anymore. In the evening the volunteers would eat in their own dining room. We made our own food with a small budget offered by the kibbutz. Food was bought at the kibbutz' supermarket.

The day ended at the pub. It's a small building on the kibbutz for the volunteers to get together. Now and then the residents of the kibbutz came by to have a beer with us.

Is there more than just the kibbutz?

Of course there is! Israel is a beatiful country. But working as a volunteer means you work 6 days a week. Your day off is sabbath (Saturday). But sabbath is a resting day, there's no public transportation so your possiblities to go anywhere are very limited. Unless you get along with the residents of the kibbutz so well that they are willing to take you out.

Kibbutz Metzer organizes a trip for their volunteers every 2 months. They arrange a coach and define a trip through Israel. A few residents guide the volunteers on this trip. I had a great trip with them: we swam in the Dead See, lounged in Eilat, enjoyed the beautiful view over Jordan on top of the Massada, hiked through the hot Red Canyon and slept in a tent in the middle of the desert. All of this in just a few days' time.

Many volunteers choose to add a few weeks of vacation to their stay in Israel before returning home. I recommend this to anyone because Israel is a beautiful country.

A few suggestions

• If you come to Israel to have a relaxing vacation, a kibbutz is not the place to be for you. The residents of the kibbutz expect you to do your job. But of course you still have enough time left to relax!
• Would you like to visit Egypt? Be sure to travel with male travelling-companions.

Sources: www.todio.nl