Ever feel bored and tired of staying at home? A new travel program is putting a modern twist on communal life.
Working remotely has its perks. There’s no commute, no office politics, no micromanaging boss breathing down your neck … and
depending on the nature of your job, you can work from basically anywhere.
So why not do it from a working farm on the beautiful Mediterranean countryside?
That’s the idea behind Gather, a month-long program for professionals who want to work remotely from Israel while experiencing the
communal “Kibbutz” lifestyle. The kibbutz is the Hebrew word for “gathering,” which was the inspiration for Gather.
In Israel, the Kibbutz concept has been around for more than a century. They were founded as collective communities based around
agriculture, but they’ve since diversified, becoming hubs for high-tech and industrial enterprises as well. About 270 communal farms
currently operate in Israel.
“Remote jobs are giving our generation the flexibility to work from anywhere in the world. Yet with great freedom comes an even greater
need to connect, to belong and to find meaning,” said Omer Har-Shai, Gather’s founder.
During their stay, participants receive accommodation, shared office space, daily lunches, access to facilities, weekend excursions, yoga
and meditation, volunteer opportunities and more.
“We want to encourage participants to try living a more balanced lifestyle, which includes a daily dose of nature and physical work
alongside their remote day job, and the Kibbutz is the perfect setting for all this,” Har-Shai said.
Gather’s inaugural program begins in January. They’re taking applications now. Har-Shai said participants will be chosen from a variety of
digital backgrounds programmers, designers, bloggers, entrepreneurs, etc.
“We’re giving this old idea a new twist by making the Kibbutz experience more relevant and accessible for the millennial generation,” said
Har-Shai.
