Not quite a technology, more of a style of life, Kibbutzim were first
used in Israel before the state was actually created in the early 1950's
by the first settelers in Israel, the Zionists.
In the early 1950,s, the Government and the Jewish Agency Settlement
Department, headed by Levi Eshkol (who later became Prime Minister),
made stringent restrictions on land purchases, where villages could
be established only where land could be bought. As a result,
settlements, frequently remote from each other, became independent
social, economic and cultural units. They were almost all engaged
in mixed or diversified farming, mainly in the dairy and poultry
branches. On a small plot set aside for his use, the farmer grew
vegetables and fruits for his household needs and for the market.
Regional cooperation in agriculture saved expenses by common use of
farming equipment, warehouses, other facilities, schools, clinics,
communal halls, shops etc., located at a central point. There was
also the urgency of reducing surplus products grown by the diversified
farms and of increasing production of industrial crops such as cotton,
sugar beet and ground nuts, which could be processed at a nearby
central point, thus saving transportation costs. The
Kibbutzim became the first building blocks of modern day Israel.
Most (if not all) of Israel’s main industries grew out of the Kibbutz
environment. Now these Kibbutzim are home to over 129,300 Israeli’s
in over 75 Kibbutzim nation wide. Most of the nations income is
created by agriculture. Israel has developed new ways to increase
production of crops without losing quality. These methods have
made Israeli agriculture what it is today, which is nothing short of
spectacular and prosperous. These agriculturally-based communities
are thriving technology centers. They seem to be the desired place
to develop and test experimental agricultural techniques.
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