Kedma was established during 2014 by a group of motivated and idealistic-driven Israeli young adults to restore the foundational Zionist values – designed by the late David Ben Gurion – of settling Jews in Israel’s remote peripheries – to strengthen and actually mark Israel’s borders.

Since 2014, Kedma has initiated and operated five programs for young adults – ages 18-32 years old; All programs are located and operated in Israel’s remote peripheries:
Student Villages – serving students who choose to study in remote universities
Young Families Communities – for university alumni who prefer to live in remote areas
Gap Year – in remote communities – for High School alumni, prior to their military service
Adam VeHava – a weekend of volunteering on rural farms, and
Culture Centers – in remote communities

Kedma has established and maintained 9 Student Villages, 3 Young Families Communities and 5 Gap Year groups across Israel’s northern, eastern and southern borders, engaging over 1,000 Israeli student volunteers and have touched the lives of tens of thousands of Israelis who live throughout the country’s borderlands. We are proud of the positive change our activities brought to these regions – 71% of all Kedma alumni choose to remain and live in border Young Families Communities, and the overall population of the communities we worked with since 2014, has cumulatively increased by 63%.

We introduce and maintain specifically tailored programs to channel the energies of these idealistic and driven young adults to strengthen and empower communities (Kibbutzim, Moshavim, and Towns) in the remote peripheral areas along the borders through volunteer work in education, welfare, agriculture, environment, community building and more.

Border communities were the most significant contribution to building the Jewish state of Israel. Driven and idealistic young adults dedicated themselves to live and prosper in remote, at times unsafe, regions to protect Israel’s borders and farm its lands. Their mission was critical; to combine military service and farming work. In many ways, they were the culmination of Zionism.

Seventy years later, the Hityashvut movement faces challenges ensued by progress, positioning communities in dire need to adapt to modernity. Their remote and isolated locations, the proximity to the nation’s borders and the lack of resources compound their development albeit their legacy role on molding Israel’s identity and security. Some succeed greatly, yet some are slowly withering away.

Kedma strives to connect young Israeli adults searching for a place to settle and live where values and life co-exist. We bring them to live, study and work in unique yet remote places to revive and settle in them