Dror Mata'im Chinuchim – Dror Educational Orchards
What is the Mata'im?
The Mata'im, are orchards that belong to Dror Israel on Kibbutz Ravid, near Tveria. In the orchards, there are mangoes, lychees, grapefruits, clementines and avocadoes. A portion of the orchard's produce is sold in the country, while a larger portion is exported. The mata’im are maintained by a steady supply of small groups who come from all over the country to spend a week working the land before returning to their respective homes and work. The vast majority of groups who come to work the farms have not done agricultural work before. This is different to how other farms in Israel work. The vast majority of agricultural work in Israel is done by hired workers as their full-time job. At the Mata'im, people come to learn to connect with working with the land and with their hands to participate in Israeli agriculture and to connect with nature.
What will you do at the Mata'im?
Participants working in the Mata'im will work select weeks in the orchards during the fall season, both harvesting produce and preparing the trees for the winter season. During weeks in the orchards, they will spend the week on Kibbutz Ravid, waking up early to work before the sun gets strong, and then spending the afternoon learning about the work that they do.
Participants will both work closely with the full-time staff members of the orchards, as well as with small groups that come to work just for the week. As they gain more experience, they will gain more skills in agricultural work, as well as the ability to help newer groups that haven’t done farm work before.
Message from the staff:
"Because our schedule in the Mata'im is so different from the normal work schedule, working here with each group feels special. The mix between physical labor and our afternoon conversations, about Israeli society, about the agricultural crisis, about the meaning of ownership, about human relations – it all creates a meaningful experience that is channeled through our experiences in the fields. The morning work enriches our afternoon conversations and those conversations in turn enrich the next morning's work. This way we can gain a new perspective to understand the actual impact of what we are doing. We can't wait for you to come join us and see what I mean!"
What is the Mata'im?
The Mata'im, are orchards that belong to Dror Israel on Kibbutz Ravid, near Tveria. In the orchards, there are mangoes, lychees, grapefruits, clementines and avocadoes. A portion of the orchard's produce is sold in the country, while a larger portion is exported. The mata’im are maintained by a steady supply of small groups who come from all over the country to spend a week working the land before returning to their respective homes and work. The vast majority of groups who come to work the farms have not done agricultural work before. This is different to how other farms in Israel work. The vast majority of agricultural work in Israel is done by hired workers as their full-time job. At the Mata'im, people come to learn to connect with working with the land and with their hands to participate in Israeli agriculture and to connect with nature.
What will you do at the Mata'im?
Participants working in the Mata'im will work select weeks in the orchards during the fall season, both harvesting produce and preparing the trees for the winter season. During weeks in the orchards, they will spend the week on Kibbutz Ravid, waking up early to work before the sun gets strong, and then spending the afternoon learning about the work that they do.
Participants will both work closely with the full-time staff members of the orchards, as well as with small groups that come to work just for the week. As they gain more experience, they will gain more skills in agricultural work, as well as the ability to help newer groups that haven’t done farm work before.
Message from the staff:
"Because our schedule in the Mata'im is so different from the normal work schedule, working here with each group feels special. The mix between physical labor and our afternoon conversations, about Israeli society, about the agricultural crisis, about the meaning of ownership, about human relations – it all creates a meaningful experience that is channeled through our experiences in the fields. The morning work enriches our afternoon conversations and those conversations in turn enrich the next morning's work. This way we can gain a new perspective to understand the actual impact of what we are doing. We can't wait for you to come join us and see what I mean!"