More on that Urban Kibbutz in Brooklyn
Sunday, June 14, 2009
The following appeared in the New York Daily News back in March. Turns out one of these Brooklyn kibbutznikim is the brother of a friend of mine! We should have a videoconference townhall with them sometime to discuss the pros and cons of private property. :)
Urban Kibbutz
Brooklyn young adults live together in a progressive commune
Tuesday, March 17th 2009, 2:28 PM
With the economic downturn smacking us all in the face, a group of six twentysomethings in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, may have a figured out a way around these difficult times.
The young adults live together, share a single bank account and contribute to household chores. They buy nonperishable groceries and home supplies in bulk. Yet their living arrangement extends beyond effective budgeting.
“When we came together, the idea was to create an intimate community and share our lives as deeply as possible,” says Tal Beery, 24, one of the roommates. “We also save a lot of money living this way.”
Beery believes this progressive form of socialism can be used as a tool to lead more meaningful lives and build stronger communities. It is an ideal the roommates learned in high school during their time on a kibbutz, an early form of communal living developed on sustainable farms in Israel.
They were encouraged to have the experience through an organization called Hashomer Hatzair, which promotes the kibbutz lifestyle as a way to positively affect the world. Hashomer Hatzair is a youth program that introduces kids to the
socialist-Zionist philosophy. It is the oldest Zionist movement in existence, running summer camps near Liberty, N.Y., and Perth, Ontario.
Beery and his roommates attended the camps when they were kids but began to soldify relationships in northern Israel.
Devoted to the kibbutz lifestyle, these eager adolescents wanted to take it a step further. As young adults, the six set out to build a city version and call it an “urban kibbutz.” The major difference is their dwelling is not a rural farm, it is a five-bedroom, one-and-a-half bath duplex. Still though, each roommate contributes to maintaining the home and their relationships as they would in an actual kibbutz. The general premise is to function collectively, with each person taking what they need from what is available and each working according to their abilities.
Though the concept has been around since the early 1900s, recent articles report that many people feel “the philosophy behind the kibbutz has gone out of fashion.”
Not according to this group. So far it has helped roommates Eugenia Manwelyan, 26, and Michal Jalowski, 25, survive in this economy. Although recently unemployed, Manwelyan still contributes to the communal bank account by working part-time in a café.
Having the communal bank account has allowed her time to re-evaluate what she wants to do and prevented her from “freaking out” over finding another full-time job. She says the financial and emotional support she receives from her housemates gave her the confidence to pursue interests she may not have had time to develop, like a passion for crochet. She recently started an online business that makes customized crocheted scarves and hats.
“Times like these foster co-operated efforts,” says Manwelyan. “Having the group’s trust that I would figure things out really helped me.”
