The Negev Desert, in Israel, is sometimes unbearably hot with temperatures occasionally higher than 45C. There are few plants on the expanses of sand and rock, and even less evidence of water, but Kibbutz Revivim (near to Beer Sheva) is a green and fertile community and a remarkable achievement in such a hostile place.
Established by only three men back in the 1940s, Revivim was vital to Israel. It proved that they could put the Negev to good use and won them a victory in the border disputes with Egypt. These days some water is pumped from the north and some is drained from an underwater supply nearby. This supplies both people and plants and keeps the place running. It isn't surprising that "Revivim" is the Hebrew for "Rainshower".
Today there are 700 Kibbutz members at Revivim. There are also usually 60 volunteers from around the world, experiencing Kibbutz life and for seven weeks I was one of them.
A self-supporting community, the Kibbutz gives its members and volunteers food, accommodation and a basic wage for their daily work which can be agricultural, industrial or administrative Produce is sold either to Israel or exported world-wide, thus creating an income.
For young children, the Kibbutz is a paradise as it offers a wide range of play facilities, schooling and a safe environment. Infants can play unattended in the streets long after dark, The older teenagers, however, feel restricted by their tightly organised daily pattern and many leave to follow their own lives. Older Kibbutz members realise this is a problem as there is no one to take over from them. It is this that makes the volunteers so important.
Despite the volunteers basic accommodation, the Kibbutz is reasonably modern with swimming pool, cinema, nightclub and even satellite TV in the common room. The food was limited, often salad, but the opportunity to meet so many people from around the world and experience a totally different way of life was excellent.
On arrival we were given a list of warnings. One was of the scorpions, spiders and deadly black snakes whose bite would kill you in minutes - one volunteer had recently found one in her bathroom. Another was of the military presence in the desert. The army base nearby would practice bombing and manoeuvres at all times of the day or night, sometimes shaking the windows with explosions, so walks in the desert weren't a good idea. But like the heat, we got used to it all.
I started work at 5.00am, six days a week, in the orchard picking fruit and finished at mid-day when the heat made work impossible. Peaches were then in season but pears, avocados and plums were a few of the other fruits grown.
I also dug trenches for laying water pipes and helped unload a delivery of 18000 chickens at 3.00 in the morning. . During the Sabbath, which starts at sunset on Friday and lasts until sunset on Saturday, the country shuts down; no buses run, no shops open and nobody works. I was also in Israel for the Jewish New Year - on 6th September the Jewish calendar celebrated the year 5755. On the Kibbutz doves were released over the desert and prayers offered to the setting sun. Apples and honey were eaten to bring a "Sweet New Year".
I was able to get to Jerusalem for a long weekend and we spent a lot of time within the walls of the Old City. The thin winding streets are full of traders selling anything from traditional jewellery to hi-fis and the Biblical history there makes it a place which is interesting for most people, religious or not. Whether following the route taken by Jesus to the place of his crucifixion - now a church - or climbing the Mount of Olives, or visiting the "Wailing Wall" where the Jews come to pray, the Old City is a fascinating place with a real atmosphere to it.
The only disappointment was Bethlehem, which is not the quaint "little town" I expected, but a dirty and run-down place full of scaffolding and ugly buildings. Only the church built on the alleged site of Jesus"s birthplace was memorable.
We took a tour out to the Dead Sea, 400m below sea-level and the lowest point on the earth, and climbed Mount Masada to see the sun rise. It was there that 1000 Jews remained under siege to the Romans and survived an incredible three years before committing mass suicide rather than fall into Roman hands. Next we floated in the Dead Sea, where it is impossible to sink, and finally we stood under the waterfalls of the En Gedi National Park which was relief from the heat.
So I came home from Israel impressed, especially by Revivim, and at how much can be achieved in such inhospitable conditions and in such a troubled country. Hopefully now, with the border to Jordan open again and the constant peace talks between national and religious leaders, it seems that Israel and her neighbours could find a solution to their many problems.
©Steve Hearnshaw 1994
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© Kibworth & District Chronicle 1998