FARMERS OF THE ARAVA DESERT PROVE DAY-BY-DAY - NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE IN AGRICULTURE
In the Arava Valley, the southern corridor to the resort town of Eilat, agricultural achievements once considered impossible by experts have become everyday reality.
The most remarkable example is dairy farming. Here there is a unique connection between the cowsheds and the processing dairy.
The fact that the raw milk is piped directly from the milking machines to the place where it is pasteurized and turned into various milk products significantly reduces the time during which bacteria can develop and spoil the milk. The result is extended shelf life (and thereby higher quality) of the products of the Yotvata Dairy. This creates an opportunity for exporting these products to Europe and North America.
At present (beginning of 2001) the total annual milk yield of the southern Arava Desert is over 30 Million liters (aprox. 2.5% of total milk production in Israel). This yield is given by almost 3000 cows, with an average annual yield of 10,500 litres per milker. (The top yield was attained by Kibbutz Neve-Charif, one of the Arava youngest & smallest settlements: 12,000 liters annually per cow.)
Eight Kibbutzim settlements and one Moshav owe a large part of their income to the fact that first settlers of the Arava desert, who founded Kibbutz Yotvata in 1957, didn't listen to those experts who claimed that cows would never survive in an area where daily summer temperatures reached around 45 degrees centigrade, with saline water and frequent sandstorms - the cows would die, those that survived would be thin and sick, and would give only small amounts of milk which would turn sour within minutes!
Kibbutz Yotvata's dairy farm & processing dairy are responsible for half of the Kibbutz's income, proving that nothing is impossible in agriculture, even in the Arava desert, next to Eilat, on the Red sea.
"SOVEV YOTVATA" Guided Group Tours in a Modern Desert Kibbutz
What would you think of modern, civilized, rational & grown up people, who decide to make the desert their home?....
3,000 adults and children, who live in the 11 settlements of the EILOT Region (5 to 40 minutes drive north of EILAT, part of the southern ARAVA Desert) prove that not only can one survive in harsh desert conditions without necessarily being a Bedouin. but that a good life can be had there.
Modern, high-standard living, with all the latest facilities, hi-tech equipment and arrangements for labor and leisure; gardening; junior and high-school education; scientifically developed agriculture... this fascinating Microcosm, a man made oasis, can be visited and observed - with explanations and background descriptions given by a local guide (who actually lives there).
And do not forget: We are speaking of collective communities, probably with the highest rate of mutual support, sharing, and cooperation known in the world - the Kibbutzim!
YOTVATA Tourist Center, which belongs to Kibbutz Yotvata, organizes guided group tours, which include the following:
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 The Desert Agriculture Research farm (which devises methods of coping with the difficulties of high temperatures & radiation, low humidity & rainfall, saline well waters and poor soil.
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 Yotvata's fields, and aerial fertilization of female date palms; how to prevent the Fruit Flies from bearing a new generation.
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 The dairy farm, well known in Israel for the high quality and long shelf-life of it's products, integrating the cowshed and the processing dairy plant in one location and production line.
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 The kibbutz itself: Living quarters, public facilities, children houses, gardens, etc.
So, if you are curious to learn how people conduct their lives in a modern collective desert agricultural & industrial community (a paradoxical match) - please call or write to Dani Wahle at Kibbutz Yotvata, 88820. Tel: 972-8-6357559 Mobile phon: 053-934362 FAX: 972-8-6357400
The guided tours of Kibbutz Yotvata are usually organized for groups with a minimum of 20 participants, who come on their own bus.
The guiding is done in a variety of languages (English, German, Dutch, French, Russian, Spanish, and more), by members of the kibbutz.
A routine tour takes between 1 and 2 hours, and includes basically the following points of interest:
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 The Research & Development Experimental Farm.
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 Desert Agriculture Fields (crops & fodder).
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 Mango and Dates Plantations (including horses' paddock).
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 Cowshed.
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 Dairy Plant (Where the raw milk, fresh from the cows, is turned into the famous "Yotvata Dairy" Products.)
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 The Kibbutz campus - where 150 families run their communal life in a modern way, based on high standards of interpersonal solidarity, responsibility, and active democracy.
Background explanations, Questions & Answers, and Stories about the daily lives of the Kibbutzniks - are an integral part of the Tour.
The price : 3.00$ per person, or the equivalent in Israeli New Shekels.

Starting Point (meeting place with the local guide), and also the end point of the tour: Kibbutz Yotvata's road restaurant, on the main road (no. 90) to the Red sea, 30 minutes drive north of the resort town of Eilat.

Special tours or visits, for less than 20 persons, or for professionals who would like to focus on certain specific subjects, can be organized on special request, but must be announced in advance, and will be charged at a higher rate than ordinary tours.
Short tours - between 30 and 50 minutes - and only to a limited number of points of interest, can also be arranged, for 2.50$ per person, or the equivalent in Is.N.Shekels.
We hope to see you soon, on your coming visit to Israel!     E-mail