Alumim is a kibbutz

Kibbutz

A kibbutz is a collective community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. Today, farming has been partly supplanted by other economic branches, including industrial plants and high-tech enterprises. Kibbutzim began as utopian communities, a combination of socialism and Zionism...

 located in the north-western Negev

Negev

The Negev is a desert and semidesert region of southern Israel. The Arabs, including the native Bedouin population of the region, refer to the desert as al-Naqab. The origin of the word Neghebh is from the Hebrew root denoting 'dry'...

 desert in southern Israel

Israel

The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

. Located close to the Gaza Strip

Gaza Strip

thumb|Gaza city skylineThe Gaza Strip lies on the Eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The Strip borders Egypt on the southwest and Israel on the south, east and north. It is about long, and between 6 and 12 kilometres wide, with a total area of...

, it falls under the jurisdiction of Sdot Negev Regional Council

Sdot Negev Regional Council

Sdot Negev Regional Council , formerly known as Azata Regional Council is a regional council in the north-western Negev desert in the South District of Israel. Established in 1951, it covers two kibbutzim, 12 moshavim and two communal settlements...

. In 2006 it had a population of 382.

History

The kibbutz was established in 1966 as a border settlement with Egypt

Egypt

Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...

 by Bnei Akiva

Bnei Akiva

Bnei Akiva is the largest religious Zionist youth movement in the world, with over 125,000 members in 37 countries. It was established in Mandate Palestine in 1929.-History:...

 members from a Nahal

Nahal

Nahal is an Israel Defense Forces infantry brigade. Historically, it refers to a program that combines military service and establishment of new agricultural settlements, often in outlying areas...

 gar'in. Its land had belonged to the Religious Kibbutz Movement

Religious Kibbutz Movement

The Religious Kibbutz Movement is an organizational framework for Orthodox kibbutzim in Israel. Its membership includes 19 communities, 16 of them traditional kibbutzim, and two others in the category of moshav shitufi , meaning that they have no communal dining hall or children's house but...

 since the 1940's and was previously farmed by kibbutz Be'erot Yitzhak

Be'erot Yitzhak

Be'erot Yitzhak is a religious kibbutz in central Israel. Located near Yehud, it falls under the jurisdiction of Hevel Modi'in Regional Council...

, which was relocated as a result of its destruction in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War

1948 Arab-Israeli War

The 1948 Arab–Israeli War, known to Israelis as the War of Independence or War of Liberation The war commenced after the termination of the British Mandate for Palestine and the creation of an independent Israel at midnight on 14 May 1948 when, following a period of civil war, Arab armies invaded...

.

Over the years other nahal groups joined the kibbutz, as well as groups of immigrants

Aliyah

Aliyah is the immigration of Jews to the Land of Israel . It is a basic tenet of Zionist ideology. The opposite action, emigration from Israel, is referred to as yerida . The return to the Holy Land has been a Jewish aspiration since the Babylonian exile...

 from World Bnei Akiva. The largest groups from abroad came from the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

. Today Alumim has about 140 members, in around 70 families. About 20% of the membership are immigrants from the UK.

In common with many kibbutzim, Alumim has its own school.

Economy

Alumim is today one of the few kibbutzim that is largely based on agriculture. Alumim has maintained the classic kibbutz collective life style. Each member receives an allowance based on his or her needs (size of family, age of children etc.). The allowance is not connected to the occupation of the member. There are no monetary incentives for any form of work. Chores such as serving in the dining hall, guard duty at night, milking the cows at the weekend are done on a rota basis. They produce and sell carrots, potatoes, sweet potatoes and other organic products.

External links

• Official website