Kibbutz Sde Boker is located in the Negev desert of southern Israel. The kibbutz is best known as the retirement home of Israel’s first Prime Minister, David Ben-Gurion.
Kibbutz Sde Boker was founded in 1952 by members of a unit that fought together during the War of Independence. They belonged to the Scouts Movement and the United Kibbutz Movement and this resulted in a massive increase in the number of residents.
Visit Kibbutz Sde Boker
Today, the kibbutz has about 500 residents and makes a living from the “Davik” factory, tourism plantations and other small businesses.
As of today (June 2020) the kibbutz is still cooperative and has not been privatized, yet the kibbutz is outlining the changes that will suit them in the future.
As the legend goes, there was a guy named Jesse who came to volunteer and fight in the War of Independence. The area reminded Jesse of the Texas prairie and in his mind he envisioned a cowboy settlement in the area.
At the end of the war, a group of members from the same unit scoured the area and determined the location of Sde Boker, which means the “Field of the Cowboy” in Hebrew.
Nice story, but the name Sde Boker was given to the kibbutz by the name of Wadi Bakra that flows next to the kibbutz.
Kibbutz Sde Boker is a starting point for touring the amazing desert area on foot by bike and by car. What’s there to do on Kibbutz Sde Boker? Find out for yourself below.
Photos: Kibbutz Sde Boker
