Double headed cow? Scared? Relax, it's a utopian community

Stuffed animals, still with glitter in their eyes, are on display here

Kibbutz Ein Harod Meuhad in north-central Israel hosted a panel discussion about my brother's photography exhibition, on display at the Mishkan Museum of art, also in Ein Harod. So I had to go there. It's my brother and it's an important event

I found the stuffed animals on display in the museum next door, however, way more attractive.

The stuffed animals are mostly local. There are some anomalies, born on the kibbutz's farm, such as the double headed cow, a goat with 8 legs, a lamb with two tails and more.

Utopia

Ein Harod is a kibbutz in the Izrael Valley, established by young idealists, socialists, in 1921. The kibbutz - there are about 250 kibbutzim in Israel - is a one of a kind entity, worldwide. These communities exist only in Israel.

The kibbutz was to be a utopian society, where everyone is equal and are expected to contribute all their skills and energy.
No one holds money.


All members' needs are provided by the kibbutz, be it food, clothing, medical, education (yes, even abroad in ivy league schools), transportation - everything. If you have a job outside the kibbutz, your salary goes to the kibbutz.

The kibbutz as an alternative to capitalism is such an interesting story, it deserves its own post (coming up).

Landmine

The Shturmann House in Ein Harod is a nature museum dedicated to finding, collecting and documenting every piece of information about the area around kibbutz Ein Harod - geology, topography, hydrology, weather, and, of course plants and animals.

The museum was established in 1941, three years after member Haim Shturman was killed when his jeep drove over a landmine. His friends commemorated Shturmann, who was a nature lover and homeland enthusiast by naming the museum after him.

It was obvious the exhibits are old, the animals were stuffed decades before and there were probably no new arrivals since the 70's. Some of the animals on display here no longer exist in the area, pushed away by human development. They were however collected here when nature was less disturbed by man.

Close encounter

So this turned out to be both a time machine tour into the past of natural history in the area, as well as a mesmerizing close encounter with these wild animals, which I'll never get to see intimately in nature.

There were also other exhibits in the museum: Roman and Greek era objects of cut stone, such as milestones, columns, vessels; photographs of the founders, some artefacts from the past taken from daily life in the kibbutz; and other items.

Photography

The stuffed animals were so real and well kept, I could not leave the place. I kept looking at the details, the faces and the way they are exhibited. Ultimately I resolved to photographing some of them.

Definitely worth a visit

All content in this post created by @yannay

Thank you for reading