Samar (kibbutz)
Encyclopedia
Samar is a kibbutz
in the Arabah
valley in the far south of Israel
. Located near Eilat, it falls under the jurisdiction of Hevel Eilot Regional Council
.
.
Samar is one of the few kibbutzim that continues to maintain a lifestyle consistent with the original socialist ideals of the kibbutz movement. About 50 to 100 families live there as of 2007.
that provided 100 kilowatts of energy, as well as the kibbutz's heating needs. The tower was built by the company AORA, sits on 2 dunam
s (0.2 hectare
s), and includes 30 mirrors.
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...
in the Arabah
Arabah
The Arabah , also known as Aravah, is a section of the Great Rift Valley running in a north-south orientation between the southern end of the Sea of Galilee down to the Dead Sea and continuing further south where it ends at the Gulf of Aqaba. It includes most of the border between Israel to the...
valley in the far south of Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
. Located near Eilat, it falls under the jurisdiction of Hevel Eilot Regional Council
Hevel Eilot Regional Council
Hevel Eilot Regional Council is a regional council in the South District of Israel, near the city of Eilat. It is the southernmost regional council in Israel....
.
History
The kibbutz was founded in 1976 by gar'in from other kibbutzim who wanted to form a different kind of community. The name "Samar" is borrowed from a plant that grows in the Arabah and near the Dead SeaDead Sea
The Dead Sea , also called the Salt Sea, is a salt lake bordering Jordan to the east and Israel and the West Bank to the west. Its surface and shores are below sea level, the lowest elevation on the Earth's surface. The Dead Sea is deep, the deepest hypersaline lake in the world...
.
Samar is one of the few kibbutzim that continues to maintain a lifestyle consistent with the original socialist ideals of the kibbutz movement. About 50 to 100 families live there as of 2007.
Economy
Kibbutz Samar is primarily engaged in growing and exporting organic dates. Dates from Kibbutz Samar and other kibbutzim in the Ardom Co-op can be purchased in the United States at Mrs. Green's Natural Market.Electricity
Most of Samar's electricity is set to be provided by a 30 m solar power towerSolar power tower
The solar power tower is a type of solar furnace using a tower to receive the focused sunlight. It uses an array of flat, movable mirrors to focus the sun's rays upon a collector tower...
that provided 100 kilowatts of energy, as well as the kibbutz's heating needs. The tower was built by the company AORA, sits on 2 dunam
Dunam
A dunam or dönüm, dunum, donum, dynym, dulum was a non-SI unit of land area used in the Ottoman Empire and representing the amount of land that can be plowed in a day; its value varied from 900–2500 m²...
s (0.2 hectare
Hectare
The hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2...
s), and includes 30 mirrors.