Kaima Nahalal on Righteous Crowd this Week!
From our fields to your table
Kaima Nahalal
Sustainable Education and Agriculture
The Hebrew month of Shvat begins next week. Tu BiShvat (Hebrew: ט״ו בשבט) is a holiday that occurs on the 15th day of the month of Shvat when we celebrate the new year of trees. In honor of the upcoming holiday, we are featuring a not-for-profit educational farm that works with at-risk young women in Israel's Jezreel Valley. The unique approach of Kaima Nahahal incorporates farming and leadership development to improve the lives of these young women.
Read our interview below with Co-Founder and CEO Merav Carmi.
What is the mission of Kaima Nahalal?
Founded in 2016 in Israel’s northern periphery, Kaima Nahalal is an NGO and operating farm that expands opportunities for troubled girls and young women, and engages the larger community, especially womens groups, in the process. In our care are those suffering drug/alcohol addiction, sexual abuse, and dangerously poor self-esteem, among other challenges. By tapping into the healing power of nature, utilizing the tool of employment, connecting to positive women role models, and providing opportunities to interact in real-world settings, we change the downward trajectory of their lives and redirect them to normative educational, social, and professional frameworks. Kaima Nahalal is the only all girl and woman-run farm in the growing Kaima educational network, founded in 2013.
What's the best part of your job and why?
I absolutely love watching the girls arrive each morning and then seeing their faces again at the end of a working day – even to the casual observer, it is clear that they are always changing, growing, and assuming new responsibilities. I love the sanctity of the tasty meals we prepare together made from our own harvest. I love Wednesdays, our picking-packing-delivery days; they are intense, awesome, and a celebration of our productivity every week!
What are some non-monetary ways for others to get involved in your organization or cause?
In a word – volunteer! Our farm is an outdoor educational classroom; a commercial enterprise which helps us sustain our educational agenda; and a gathering place for the larger community to connect to their food sources. Here volunteers experience the restorative power of nature and meet environmental activists, educators, and others in common purpose. Each year hundreds of people give of their time by literally rolling up their sleeves to help plant, harvest, and protect our agriculture, frequently with a meal prepared with the farm’s bounty!
How would you connect your organization to a Jewish text, value or experience?
Just as the concept of Ezrat Nashim -- the “Women’s Court” of the ancient Temples of Jerusalem - evokes a sense of inclusivity and belonging, so too does Kaima Nahalal. Being a farmer connects the individual to the land, the seasons, the rhythms of the Jewish calendar and to our collective responsibility to protect nature’s life-giving power. Indeed, Project Lavender, its name chosen for the plant’s restorative properties and holy references, and our Garden of Eve program, so called in tribute to the Bible’s first woman and original mother, draw inspiration from our Jewish past and inform our identity and purpose. In the words of Rabbi Kook “When the spirit shines, even foggy skies make pleasant light.” All that we do is to shine a light to help the young person find her own path.
To learn more about Kaima Nahalal, click here.