The Kibbutz Movement

Materials compiled from Sino-foreign exchange visits indicate that Israel's kibbutzim are a comprehensive form of cooperative combining production, consumption, housing, education and elderly care, emphasising collective ownership, voluntary self-help, equality and democratic management. The materials note that Israeli kibbutzim form a three-tier structure of grassroots kibbutzim, regional federations and a national federation: about 267 grassroots kibbutzim are responsible for agricultural production and members' livelihoods, eight regional federations provide value-added services such as agricultural processing, marketing and tourism, and the national federation coordinates cross-regional engineering, investment and resources. Since the 1990s, some kibbutzim, without abandoning cooperative principles, have introduced reforms such as differentiated wages, token charges and partial housing ownership, producing a management approach that blends cooperative and shareholding elements.

Note: this section is compiled mainly from materials gathered during exchange visits between Chinese and international cooperative organisations, and does not represent an official position. Because it draws on first-hand exchanges and observed institutional practice, it is offered as contextual reference material.