Olive wood board

I went for a walk in the grounds of Kibbutz Palmach Tzova. I was privileged to be volunteer before going to the army, a year full of work, volunteering and experiences. I never gave up on a trip in the amazing landscape of the kibbutz. Olive trees! Large and spectacular trees are scattered over 380 acres.

Unfortunately, fires caused in the plantation areas damaged the magnificent olive trees. We decided to continue using the olive trees. The beautiful olive wood board can be used as a cutting board, as a board for serving delicious cheeses or meat and also as a base for a hot pot.

I returned to work. In my work I work with the "foxes". A group of boys named after the unit "Fox Shimshon" and is including about five 23-year-olds boys, with low-functioning autism. Together with them, I work in the orchard, in the greenhouses, and also build benches and make cutting boards made from the same trees that were damaged by the fires.

The boards are cut by members of the year of service with me in the commune, in collaboration with the year of service staff and the plantation industry team. In order for the boards to become smooth cutting boards, they must be sanded. The foxes do the sanding as part of the class and Grandma Clara joins us, during her working days at the packing house.

The group grinds very carefully in order to achieve the best result.

After sanding, proceed to painting. The dyeing is done by the olive oil produced in the kibbutz. This oil is produced from those spectacular trees that are scattered and surround the Tzuba areas. The olives are harvested during the harvest season by members of the commune and sent to a press. The oil is sold in the kibbutz's supermarket and stored in a packing house.

In fact, at the end of the board sanding process, it is anointed with the same oil extracted from the wood from which it was cut.

The cutting board provides a solution for those "foxes" whose abilities do not allow for the construction of benches, but are reflected in a customized task of cutting boards.

I walk around the same areas again. This time, I see not only the olive tree but also what it can give for those foxes: a job where they can realize themselves, a company they meet at work and where they can feel a part of it and giving when the product they make passes for human use and enjoyment.