Neot Smadar (, lit. ''Oasis of grape blossoms'') is a

kibbutz A kibbutz ( / , ; : kibbutzim / ) is an intentional community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. The first kibbutz, established in 1910, was Degania Alef, Degania. Today, farming has been partly supplanted by other economi ...

in southern

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

which is Located in the Arava Desert. it falls under the jurisdiction of Hevel Eilot Regional Council. Its area is 80 hectares. In it had a population of .

History

Neot Smadar is located in the southern

Negev The Negev ( ; ) or Naqab (), is a desert and semidesert region of southern Israel. The region's largest city and administrative capital is Beersheba (pop. ), in the north. At its southern end is the Gulf of Aqaba and the resort town, resort city ...

about 70 km. north of

Eilat Eilat ( , ; ; ) is Israel's southernmost city, with a population of , a busy port of Eilat, port and popular resort at the northern tip of the Red Sea, on what is known in Israel as the Gulf of Eilat and in Jordan as the Gulf of Aqaba. The c ...

. The kibbutz was established in 1989, on the grounds of an abandoned kibbutz, Shizafon. The guest rooms' village on a hill nearby was built on the grounds of the abandoned

Nahal settlement Nahal settlements () were Israeli settlements established by Israeli soldiers of Nahal in both Israel and the Israeli-occupied territories. Supporting the growth and expansion of Israeli Jews was once the main focus of Nahal troops of the Israe ...

Ya'alon. Neot Smadar is as an organic community featuring architecturally unique buildings with passive cooling towers. The Art Center houses 14 workshops for

Stained glass Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...

ceramic A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant, and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porcela ...

textile Textile is an Hyponymy and hypernymy, umbrella term that includes various Fiber, fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, Staple (textiles)#Filament fiber, filaments, Thread (yarn), threads, and different types of #Fabric, fabric. ...

wood Wood is a structural tissue/material found as xylem in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulosic fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin t ...

and

metal A metal () is a material that, when polished or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electrical resistivity and conductivity, electricity and thermal conductivity, heat relatively well. These properties are all associated wit ...

s. The building is insulated with mud bricks, with "air conditioning" supplied by a desert cooling tower.

Economy

The economy is based on agriculture, with 500

dunam A dunam ( Ottoman Turkish, Arabic: ; ; ; ), also known as a donum or dunum and as the old, Turkish, or Ottoman stremma, was the Ottoman unit of area analogous in role (but not equal) to the Greek stremma or English acre, representing the amo ...

s of organically cultivated vineyards (origin of the place name), deciduous trees, olives, date plantations and an herb garden.Rising from nothing in the desert, idealists now work amid water, orchards, gardens and fish
The New Farm

Olive oil Olive oil is a vegetable oil obtained by pressing whole olives (the fruit of ''Olea europaea'', a traditional Tree fruit, tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin) and extracting the oil. It is commonly used in cooking for frying foods, as a cond ...

is produced in a cold press set up with assistance from ICA and Israel's Ministry of Industry and Trade in 2001. The high-quality oil has been conferred the highest grade by Israel's Olive Council. The kibbutz operates a boutique organic winery and produces a variety of cheeses from fresh goat milk. Its roadside restaurant, Pundak Neot Smadar, offers vegetarian food and sells the kibbutz's organic products. Some cabins are rented to tourists. File:NeotSmadarMar172022 01.jpg, Neot Smadar - West File:NeotSmadarMar172022 04.jpg, Neot Smadar - East File:Neotsmadar.jpg, Neot Smadar arts center File:NeotSmadarMar172022 03.jpg, Neot Smadar arts center - from above

References

External links

Official website

English website
{{Authority control Kibbutzim Kibbutz Movement Populated places established in 1989 Populated places in Southern District (Israel) 1989 establishments in Israel