Finally on the Kibbutz

The person I met from the kibbutz was Mike, who is this awesome guy from England who has lived here for I think 23 years (the kibbutz itself is only 26 yrs old) and he happens to be sort of in charge of the work for the Eco Volunteers/Interns, which is what I am, so he is one of the people I "report" to. He gave me a mini-tour of the kibbutz, showed me my lodging (a domed hut) and the rest of the Eco Vols (my peers). There are currently 4 of us; Eitan has been here the longest and he is originally from Virginia, Tara has been here on and off for I think 6 months and she is from Toronto, and Stephanie has been here only a couple of months and she is from New York. The place where we all live is called the Bustan (which means orchard) and there are 10 huts, a communal kitchen, some composting toilets, showers, tool shed, and this unfinished communal gathering dome place in the center (where I am currently).

Where exactly am I?

This is where I am not

This is where I am

The entrance to the Bustan

I (we) also have other people that we "report" to, their names are Leah and Alex. There might be more later, but this is what understand of it at the moment. Basically they decide what sort of work we will be doing on any particular day.

The toolshed

The community dome in the center

I live in hut #8 and it is nice with a bed, desk, 2 shelf things, and like a coffee table thing. All the huts are made of dried mud and bales of straw for insulation. They have all been decorated (and built) differently by various groups who came to do this program called the Green Apprenticeship (GA). Also there is free wireless on the kibbutz, so I am in the middle of the desert, in a hut, with wireless.

Some of the domes

Home sweet home, my dome!

Other interesting things on the kibbutz include a cow dairy, a goat dairy, bird reserve, date plantation, a pub, a swimming pool, a dining hall, and a tea house. There are about 20 or 30 permanent families in Lotan that are permanent members and there are a bunch of volunteers with different classifications (there are different type of Jewish volunteer groups that I really don't understand too well yet).

Next Post: work at Lotan