Applicability of the Israeli Kibbutz concept in South Africa

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2015

Authors

Petronio, Fabio Augusto Maria

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Abstract

This research considers the applicability of the Israeli Kibbutz concept to South Africa. South Africa has struggled to create new jobs and alleviate poverty. The South African government has embarked on a drive to establish communal co-operatives in the rural areas. These alternate business models hope to fulfil the needs of some of the more vulnerable members of our community that cannot adequately be supported by either the private or public sector. However, no study of communal systems can be done without studying the Kibbutz system of Israel that has managed to survive for one hundred years. The imitability of the Kibbutz has been the subject of many discussions and while some researchers believe that it was “Sui Generis” and cannot be imitated, others believe that because the Kibbutz system was founded on a trial and error basis, it should be possible to replicate it. This research tries to find the similarities that exist between rural projects in South Africa today and the Kibbutz during the founding period of Israel. In order to achieve this, the research required re-living the conditions of the early Kibbutz through literature and, in so doing, take note of the prevailing socio-political conditions of the time. The characteristics of the early Kibbutz were then plotted against current rural development schemes to assess their similarity.

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Keywords

Rural development -- South Africa.Land reform -- Law and legislation -- South Africa. Communal living -- South Africa.Collective settlements -- South Africa.Kibbutzim.

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