All the children are enjoying the
summer break with organized daily activities and full use of the swimming pool. Older children will be taking part in the
annual rafting event on the
“Aley Giva” (On
the Hill): The kibbutz newsletter is
published every fortnight and is distributed among members and residents at
Matzuva. The editor is Edna Nathans who
works tirelessly to bring out the publication that contains local news,
articles and contributions submitted by members.
There is a notion to publish an abridged edition of “Aley Giva” in HEBREW within the
website for Hebrew speakers with connections past and present to Matzuva.
Building: Over the last couple of years the Matzuva skyline has changed
with quite a few members, some older and some younger, adding to, renovating or
rebuilding apartments. All these changes
are privately financed and with the advent of home ownership some members have
added a second level to their homes. I
suspect this may be for two reasons 1) to extend the relatively small living
space of the standard kibbutz apartment (all meals are prepared at home) and/or
2) to afford a solution for older children prior to and following army service
until they find their feet in life.
Matzuva for decades had a skyline of ground-level apartments. Most alumni visiting the kibbutz will notice
this marked change.
Last week, the last wooden building (formerly a studio and Purim
fancy dress store) was taken down in order to facilitate a parking lot in the
future.
“The Third Time – Ice
Cream” – a new enterprise serving light snacks opened two weeks ago just
to the east of the roundabout of the bus stop on a courtyard behind the freezer
buildings (once the mushroom growing houses).
It’s a new focal point for the Matzuva community. The entrepreneur is Tomer
– a new member of Matzuva.
Habits of Dogs and their owners:
The never ending saga of dogs leaving their “footprints” on lawns at
Matzuva has once again caused an outcry on the kibbutz with an appeal to dog
owners to keep their dogs on a leash and to immediately clean up any “mines”
left by their pets. There is a local
authority by-law that dogs must be tied on a leash and that any unattended or
stray dogs may be incarcerated in a compound at Kibbutz Yasur
and can be reunited with the owners at a charge.
“Nofey Matzuva”: This week 30 families
of Stage B of the Nofey Matzuva community extension
signed contracts with the Israel Land Administration. This is another significant
step in the demographic growth of Matzuva.
Meanwhile, houses are under construction at Stage A.
“Kibbutz Matzuva – Nofey Matzuva”: The Matzuva seniors
club meets weekly at the Moadon (clubhouse) for a cultural get-together over
coffee and cake. Veteran member Dan
Carmi wrote about the meeting last week with members of Kibbutz Rosh Hanikra
who talked about inter-relations between the kibbutz and its community
village. Today the kibbutz has 229
members and is a minority to the 156 families of the community village
extension. Through dialogue and good
relations they have formed joint committees to oversee education, culture,
gardens, festival and events. The
essence is to find mutual reciprocity and not the divide in order to bind both
communities together towards a planned future together.
Dining Room: As mentioned earlier this month the kibbutz dining room
and kitchen has been rented out to a firm producing food products. The food plant is not yet in production and
it doesn’t appear that it ever will.
During the last week trucks have been reloading the equipment and the
dining room is now more or less empty. I
suspect that most members including yours truly are breathing a sigh of
relief. Without knowing the legal and
financial ramifications surrounding this strange event I am sure that the
former dining room could be exploited for a more suitable rental purpose.
Water: With the
Enjoy your week
Regards
Baruch