Kibbutz Resident Application
If you haven't read What is the Ravenna Kibbutz?, please do that first. Glancing over the Moving to the Kibbutz page isn't a bad idea either.
Because our goal is to balance many factors for the best overall configuration, we strongly encourage you to apply for every room and programming contribution level that would be acceptable to you. The greater your flexibility, the better your chances of being placed, and the better the community's chances of finding a good balance that we'll all love living with. Bear in mind that future expansions and shuffles are possible (the last one was September 2009, and June before that), so opportunity exists to change rooms once you are a resident.
Rent and Discounts. The Ravenna Kibbutz is a co-op, collecting monthly dues from each resident. This membership fee covers rent plus the collective's other expenses. (Mostly, it covers rent.) Each kibbutznik's dues are determined by two factors: personal living amenities and "program grants." A basic single bedroom on the Kibbutz currently goes for $578/mo., minus $35 for each program grant taken on by the resident. Therefore, a kibbutznik in a standard room who organizes three programs in a month owes $578 - $35 x 3 = $473. There are several rooms with extra space and amenities, appropriate for couples (who receive priority consideration for these rooms) or for singles needing a lot of personal space or a personal bathroom or kitchen. These units are priced higher accordingly.
Program grants are available to all kibbutzniks who have lived on the Kibbutz for at least one month. Program grants go first (up to four per month) to residents who have financial need, and then to anyone who has a good idea for a community activity. Currently the Ravenna Kibbutz awards 30 program grants per month to a total of 16 residents, so the average is about 2 grants per resident.
Because we are an intentional community, not just a housing share, even Kibbutz residents who opt to organize no public programs are still expected to: (1) help maintain the Kibbutz Commons spaces; and (2) co-host one Cheder Ochel dinner gathering per month for all Kibbutz residents. (Cheder Ochel events are not publicized. They're for kibbutznik bonding.)
Moishe House. Moishe House is no longer affiliated with the Ravenna Kibbutz, but we still share many goals and qualities in common. If you like Moishe House, you'll probably like the Ravenna Kibbutz!
Utilities and Lease. All utilities combined -- water, sewer, garbage, recycling, gas, electricity, and internet -- average out to about $120 per resident per month, and are higher in the winter and lower in the summer. Each resident's name will individually be on the lease signed with the owner of that resident's house. To move away during the term of a lease requires two month's notice to the Kibbutz residential collective, and any sublet requires similar notice plus the collective's approval. Every resident is accountable both to the residential collective and to the respective landlord for paying each month's dues on the last day of the previous month. Deposit for a new resident is one month's dues for that resident's room (without program grants).
Commons. Is there a "quiet house?" No, but every house has set quiet hours which dictate how the Commons can be used. The Commons spaces consist of the two main rooms in each of the three houses, plus one bathroom at each and the yards outside. Those Commons spaces are accessible to all Kibbutz residents during specified time periods, and may also be used for hosting public Kibbutz programs. Individual bedrooms at houses Bet and Gimel do not currently carry a minimum requirement for hosting public programs, but the Commons spaces at those houses themselves must be available, within negotiable parameters, for community activity.
If you have any questions that aren't answered here, please email us (address at the very bottom of this page) and we'll get back to you right away.
And now, the application!
