4-00 (December 2000) by Dan Goldstein Special Aspects Israel

I manage a small (six-member) technical writing firm; we call ourselves "The Text Store". In addition to the usual types of documentation (manuals, online Help, Web-based Help, etc.), we also design and host Web sites. We are proud of our products, we enjoy our work, and we are doing well financially.

We do have one little secret: We're located on Kibbutz Ketura, a small, isolated commune in the Arava desert near the southern tip of Israel (close to the southern seaport of Eilat). Since I'm writing for writers, I must be more precise with my prepositions: We're actually located under Kibbutz Ketura, in a converted bomb shelter.

What's it like being a technical writer on a kibbutz? One obvious difference is the money. I do manage the business, but I don't own it - The Text Store is part of the kibbutz and, as such, is owned jointly by the kibbutz's 125 members. As a member of the kibbutz, I get a monthly allowance instead of a salary, so the money I earn from technical writing goes straight into the kibbutz's bank account. My only reward for landing a big contract is my co-workers' congratulations (we usually celebrate with ice cream).

Another difference is the hours. We usually arrive at the office by 7:30 AM, once we get our kids off to school and to the day care centre. Since our homes, the school bus stop, the kindergarten, and the office are all within a 200-yard radius, it's an easy commute. We work until about 4 PM, when most people go home to their kids and spouses. In the past few years, there were only a handful of times I didn't leave the office on time - but there were hundreds of nights that brought me back to the office after 9 PM, once the kids were in bed.

We all have extra duties, in addition to our regular jobs at The Text Store. Each of us, a few times a month, must help serve supper at the communal dining hall or go to milk the cows. We occasionally substitute for gas station attendants, day care workers, and so on. Life on a traditional kibbutz (and Ketura is one of the few traditional kibbutzim left in Israel ) involves sharing all sorts of jobs.

You may be wondering about that bomb shelter: Don't we need it in case there's a war? Well, we have it because Israeli law requires shelters in border settlements, but our neighbors (Egypt and Jordan) are pretty quiet, and our shelters have never been used in wartime. Since office space is at a premium, we chose the bomb shelter. We installed new flooring and recessed lighting, hooked up the computer network connections, and presto: instant high-tech office. The view isn't much, but it keeps us out of the hot sun.

As you all know, one of the advantages of the Internet is that it doesn't really matter where you are. Our Israeli clients think of Ketura as you might think of Tierra del Fuego - the ends of the earth. But we download their applications via FTP and we deliver our products by e-mail, which makes geography irrelevant. We even have a client in the US. When we need to visit a client in Tel Aviv or Jerusalem, we fly from the nearest airport in Eilat.

Inside the office, there isn't much to distinguish us from our colleagues in Boston or London, aside from our casual dress. But when we climb that long staircase to daylight, we get a terrific view of Ketura’s gardens, the date plantation out in the valley, and beyond that -- the red Edom mountains in Jordan. We can also hear our kids playing (or screaming at each other) nearby. Not a bad life.

You can see us on our Web cam at: http://textstore.co.il/webcam/  

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