Yotvata

Infobox_Kibbutz
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latd=29 |latm=53 |lats=44.16 |latNS=N
longd=35 |longm=3 |longs=36.35 |longEW=E

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caption= Yotvata's rooftops.
imgsize=250
name = Yotvata
hebname=Hebrew|יטבתה
foundation = 1957
founded_by =
region = Arabah
district=south
industry = Agriculture, dairy
affiliation = Kibbutz Movement
website = [http://www.yotvata.org.il www.yotvata.org.il]

Yotvata ( _he. יטבתה) is a kibbutz along the Arabah road in the southern Negev in Israel. It has approximately 280 members and 700 total residents. The ancient copper mines of Timna valley are located nearby.

Yotvata started in 1951 as a Nahal settlement named "Ein Ghadian". In 1957 it was established as the first kibbutz in the southern Arabah region by HaKibbutz HaMeuhad. The name is biblical.Cite book
publisher = Mapa Publishing
isbn = 9657184347
pages = p. 217
others = Yuval El'azari (ed.)
title = Mapa's concise gazetteer of Israel
location = Tel-Aviv
date = 2005 he icon] They decided to start a dairy that would provide milk to Eilat, which was expected to grow rapidly. Breeding milking cows in the desert was considered an impossible mission. In 1962 the dairy was founded, with four cows. The members tried to get funds from the Jewish Agency, but failed. Eventually, they received funding from the Israeli Trade and Industry Minister, Pinhas Sapir. In the first year, the dairy produced 500,000 liters of milk. By 2008, it was producing 62 million liters a year and controls 63% of the Israeli dairy market (making NIS400 million a year), and 49% of the fortified milk market (making NIS250 million a year). It employs 130 workers and has 700 cows.Cite news
last = Peretz
first = Sapir
title = How did Yotvata turn from a small dairy in the middle of the desert to one of the market's strongest brands?
work = Globes
accessdate = 2008-10-01
date = 2008-07-30
url = http://www.globes.co.il/news/article.aspx?fid=821&did=1000366778 he icon] The dairies of Kibbutz Yahel, Lotan, and Ketura provide milk for Yotvata.

Yotvata's Khai-Bar Nature Reserve is dedicated to reintroducing extinct species mentioned in the Bible, as well as other endangered desert animals, to the wild. It has three parts: a park for herbivorous animals; the Predators Center that displays reptiles, small desert animals and large predators; and the Desert Night Life Exhibition Hall to observe nocturnal animals during their active hours.Cite news
title = The Yotvata Khai-Bar Nature Reserve
work = Haaretz
accessdate = 2008-10-01
date = 2008-04-16
url = http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/968281.html]

Southwest of the kibbutz lies a Roman fortress built during the reign of the Emperor Diocletian as part of a line of border fortresses (limes) in the Negev, in order to protect the trade route from marauding Arab nomads.Cite web
title = The Eilat Region
work = Jewish Virtual Library
accessdate = 2008-10-01
url = http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Archaeology/eilat.html]

References

External links

* [http://www.yotvata.org.il Official website]
*Cite web
title = Hai Bar Animal and Nature Reserve Red Sea Desert
work = redseadesert.com
accessdate = 2008-10-01
url = http://redseadesert.com/html/060haibar.html