Offices

 

Offices

The two office buildings were part of the Nahal army base which occupied Ketura before the Kibbutz was founded.

Throughout the early years of the Kibbutz the function of these buildings was constantly changing. Some of the rooms were further divided, porches were closed, and an additional structure was built in between the original two buildings. These changes were made in order to meet the needs of the kibbutz as it developed and grew. If in the past it was possible to make do with three to four rooms that served as an office, today, there are no less than twelve offices! And that too is not enough.

In the past these buildings served many purposes such as the medical clinic, laundry, synagogue, library and a place for making telephone calls. One room of the building which served as the first medical clinic was later converted into the accounts department. The medical clinic was moved to its own building which was constructed in the early 1980’s. During the first years of the kibbutz the eastern most room served as the place where dirty clothes were collected and sent to a laundry outside of the kibbutz. There was also a communal telephone room. At the time there were no telephones in the houses (nor smartphones in everyone’s pocket) therefore members had to use a communal telephone in one of the offices. This telephone often moved from place to place.

For the first two years after the establishment of the kibbutz one of the rooms in these buildings also served as the first synagogue. The synagogue was then moved to the moadon (clubhouse) until it moved yet again to the mercaz. For a short time another room functioned as the library which moved many times until a permanent library was built in 2002.

Bar Mitzvah class

 2019-2020