Kibbutz Lotan () is the second Reform kibbutz established by the Reform Jewish Movement a

Reform Reform refers to the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc. The modern usage of the word emerged in the late 18th century and is believed to have originated from Christopher Wyvill's Association movement, which ...

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 ...

. Located in the

Arabah The Arabah/Araba () or Aravah/Arava () is a loosely defined geographic area in the Negev Desert, south of the Dead Sea basin, which forms part of the border between Israel to the west and Jordan to the east. The old meaning, which was in use ...

Valley in the

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 ...

desert, it falls under the jurisdiction of

Hevel Eilot Regional Council Hevel Eilot Regional Council (, ''Mo'atza Azorit Hevel Eilot'') is a regional council in the Southern District of Israel, near the city of Eilat. It is the southernmost regional council in Israel. Only about 5,300 people live in the council in ...

. In it had a population of . The kibbutz is a member of the

Israel Movement for Reform and Progressive Judaism The Israel Movement for Reform and Progressive Judaism (IMPJ; ) is the organizational branch of Progressive Judaism in Israel, and a member organization of the World Union for Progressive Judaism. It currently has 40 communities and congregation ...

and the

Global Ecovillage Network The Global Ecovillage Network (GEN) is a global association of people and communities (ecovillages) dedicated to living " sustainable plus" lives by restoring the land and adding more to the environment than is taken. Network members share ideas ...

History

The kibbutz was founded in 1983 by idealistic Israeli and American youths who together built a profit sharing community based on pluralistic, egalitarian and creative Jewish values while protecting the environment. The name of the kibbutz derives from

Lotan Lotan (Ugaritic: 𐎍𐎚𐎐 ''LTN'', meaning "coiled"), also transliterated Lôtān, Litan, or Litānu, is a servant of the sea god Yam defeated by the storm god Hadad-Baʿal in the Ugaritic '' Baal Cycle''. Lotan seems to have been p ...

, "one of the sons of Seir the Horite".Carta's Official Guide to Israel and Complete Gazetteer to all Sites in the Holy Land. (3rd edition 1993) Jerusalem, Carta, p.299, (English) and Bitan, Hanna: 1948-1998: Fifty Years of 'Hityashvut': Atlas of Names of Settlements in Israel, Jerusalem 1999, Carta, p.36, (; a descendant of

Esau Esau is the elder son of Isaac in the Hebrew Bible. He is mentioned in the Book of Genesis and by the minor prophet, prophets Obadiah and Malachi. The story of Jacob and Esau reflects the historical relationship between Israel and Edom, aiming ...

, who lived in

Edom Edom (; Edomite language, Edomite: ; , lit.: "red"; Akkadian language, Akkadian: , ; Egyptian language, Ancient Egyptian: ) was an ancient kingdom that stretched across areas in the south of present-day Jordan and Israel. Edom and the Edomi ...

nearby).

Economy

Income is generated by growing

Medjool The Medjool date ( - tamar al-majhūl. Tamar means 'date' and majhūl means 'unknown', from جَهِلَ ''jahila'', 'to not know') also known as Medjoul, Mejhoul or Majhool, is a large, sweet cultivated variety of date (''Phoenix dactylifera'' ...

and Dekel Noir

dates Date or dates may refer to: * Date, the fruit of the date palm (''Phoenix dactylifera'') * Jujube, also known as red date or Chinese date, the fruit of ''Ziziphus jujuba'' Social activity *Dating, a form of courtship involving social activit ...

, dairy cows for milk and an Eco education branch, member's incomes from work throughout the region and

ecotourism Ecotourism is a form of nature-oriented tourism intended to contribute to the Ecological conservation, conservation of the natural environment, generally defined as being minimally impactful, and including providing both contributions to conserv ...

including

birdwatching Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device such as binoculars or a telescop ...

and

the Green Apprenticeship program ''The'' is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the ...

. The kibbutz's Center for Creative Ecology is an environmental education, research and conservation institution. The Center offers academic programs and certification courses in

permaculture Permaculture is an approach to land management and settlement design that adopts arrangements observed in flourishing natural ecosystems. It includes a set of design principles derived using Systems theory, whole-systems thinking. It applies t ...

sustainable design Environmentally sustainable design (also called environmentally conscious design, eco-design, etc.) is the philosophy of designing physical objects, the built environment, and services to comply with the principles of ecological sustainability ...

and training. Facilities include an interactive park for

organic Organic may refer to: * Organic, of or relating to an organism, a living entity * Organic, of or relating to an anatomical organ Chemistry * Organic matter, matter that has come from a once-living organism, is capable of decay or is the product ...

and urban agriculture,

natural building Natural building or ecological building is a discipline within the more comprehensive scope of green building, sustainable architecture as well as sustainable and ecological design that promotes the construction of buildings using sustainab ...

and

solar energy Solar energy is the radiant energy from the Sun's sunlight, light and heat, which can be harnessed using a range of technologies such as solar electricity, solar thermal energy (including solar water heating) and solar architecture. It is a ...

demonstrations as well as the energy-efficient EcoCampus, a neighborhood constructed from earth-plastered straw bales.

References

External links

Kibbutz Lotan Official websiteKibbutz Lotan Desert Inn Official website
{{Authority control Kibbutzim Kibbutz Movement Populated places established in 1983 Populated places in Southern District (Israel) Reform Judaism in Israel 1983 establishments in Israel Reform Zionism