Kvutza, kevutza or kevutzah ( "group") is a communal settlement among Jews, primarily in pre-state Israel, the word was used in reference to communal life. First there were ''kvutzot'' (plural of kvutza) in the sense of groups of young people with similar ideals living and working together; and after 1909 and for many years to follow, in the sense of

collective settlement An intentional community is a voluntary residential community which is designed to have a high degree of group cohesiveness, social cohesion and teamwork from the start. The members of an intentional community typically hold a common social, po ...

s created by such groups. The kvutza collective settlement was distinguished from the ''

kibbutz A kibbutz ( he, קִבּוּץ / , lit. "gathering, clustering"; plural: kibbutzim / ) is an intentional community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. The first kibbutz, established in 1909, was Degania. Today, farming h ...

'' settlement in that it intended to remain small and mainly agricultural, whereas the larger kibbutzim were intended to expand with agriculture, industry and other productive pursuits. Later, as the distinction disappeared, most kvutzot were renamed kibbutzim. Notable example:

Degania Alef Degania Alef ( he, דְּגַנְיָה א', ) is a kibbutz in northern Israel. The Jewish communal settlement ('' kvutza'') started off in 1910, making it the earliest socialist Zionist farming commune in the Land of Israel. Its status as "the ...

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