Our Story
A Light Bulb Moment:
It was Chanukah 2012. A group of young Israeli social entrepreneurs and agriculturalists gathered to find a way to channel their passion for organic farming into a solution for vulnerable youth. They wanted to improve the lives of young people who struggled to adapt to conventional, indoor, adult-driven learning frameworks.
The Location:
An abandoned, rock-strewn patch of land in Beit Zayit, a moshav on the outskirts of Jerusalem. Preparing the site required backbreaking work, as the land wasn't ready for us. We, however, were ready for the land; ready to invest time and love into bringing it back from its centuries-long slumber. This involved removing boulders, weeds, and debris, loosening the soil for root growth, testing and adjusting the soil's pH and nutrient levels, and ensuring adequate drainage.
Our Roots Take Hold:
Within a few months, thanks to generous neighbors who donated the land, our committed founders, and a highly motivated team of volunteers, we planted our first crops and welcomed our first youth.
Today:
Kaima Beit Zayit encompasses 50 dunams (12 acres) of rich, fertile land. Our weekly yields feed 2,500 people, supplying our CSA customer base and providing vital vegetable donations to those in need. Today, we stand as the prototype for a growing social farming network that impacts thousands of vulnerable lives and enriches the general community.
Our Story
hanukah 2012: A group of young Israeli social entrepreneurs gathered to consider how to merge their passion for organic farming to improve the lives of young people unable to adapt to conventional indoor, adult-driven learning frameworks. Our location: An abandoned, rock-strewn patch of land in Beit Zayit, a moshav on the outskirts of Jerusalem. Preparing the site required backbreaking attention, as the land wasn't ready for us. We, however, were ready for the land; ready to invest time and love into bringing it back from its centuries-long slumber. This involved removing boulders, weeds, and debris, loosening the soil for root growth, testing and adjusting the soil's pH and nutrient levels, and ensuring adequate drainage.
After a few months, thanks to our committed founders and a motivated group of hard-working community volunteers, we planted our first crops and welcomed our first youth. Today, Kaima Beit Zayit encompasses 50 dunam (12 acres) of fertile land, which yields enough produce to feed 2,500 people weekly. It also serves as the prototype farm in our growing social farming network, which has enabled us to impact the lives of thousands of young people and the general community.
Meet the Team
The Kaima Center for Economic Development and Educational Training enables us to oversee all educational, business, and financial resource development activities across the growing Kaima youth farming network. This includes managing current farms and vetting potential new sister venues. Meet the team below:
Yoni Yefet-Reich
CEO & Kaima Network Director
Ella Koren Lifshitz
Customer Relations Manager
Inbar Lifshitz
Terrace Team Leader
Michael Mizrahi Fein
Educational Artist & Director of Kaima PBL Lab
Ron Abeles
Orchard Team Leader
Ofir
Team Manager
Guy Bar Navon
Director, Bein Hatlamim & Anchor in the Earth
Nadav Yudekovitz
Team Leader
Niv Liel
Agricultural Development Manager
El Shabtai
Packing House Manager
Didi Malka
Professional Development & Mentorship
Irit Liberman
Deputy CEO, Operations, Administration & Content
Narkis Goharyan
edagogic Agriculturalist & Visitor Center Coordinator
Efrat Rubin
Social Worker
Hallel Tal
Kaima Beit Zait Farm Manager
Naama Arad
Team Leader
Training Center for Social Farming
Beit Kaima
For over a decade, Kaima has championed our “Farm as Classroom” approach to individual and communal engagement. The increasing legitimacy of this educational construct and the role community-led farming plays in sustaining Israel’s food chain demonstrate the imperative to connect people to the agricultural systems upon which they rely.
Kaima is poised to lead this movement through the future “Training Center for Social Farming" - Beit Kaima.
On the physical level, Beit Kaima - to be built using green technologies on another two acres adjacent to our fields - will bring together under one roof a newly streamlined packing house, olive press, growing rooms, administrative offices, classrooms, demo kitchen, recreational music studio, and more.
On the educational level, Beit Kaima will serve as Israel's national training center for educators, social change makers, and other professionals working to connect people to their communities through sustainable farming. This will enable us to scale our educational methodology for use with several populations, including disenfranchised youth; those recovering from PTSD, drug/alcohol dependency, abuse, special needs individuals, and others.
We must move forward with this undertaking immediately, as Israel seeks innovative ways to rehabilitate both her people, who have suffered tremendous trauma, and her agricultural sector upended in the wake of the October 7 war.
