In the beginning Degania worked the entire 3,000 dunams which she had acquired east of the Jordan, but when settlement in the valley expanded, she was left with an area measuring a mere1,500 dunams, small in comparison to any national scale. She did, however, enjoy a different advantage – she was not limited in the quantity of available water. Thus, there developed the system of irrigation by gravitation in the narrow and wide furrows and ridges of the fields. The leveling of the area and the delivery of water by way of canals were on a par with the standards in California. Weather conditions and unlimited supplies of water made possible intensive and exclusive agriculture as well as the cultivation of crops such as the banana and the avocado.
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Avocado picking - Benjamin Ilan 1970 |
The acclimatization of the avocado was begun by Mordechai Pecker and was completed by Benjamin Ilan.
Degania A’ also played a part in the acclimatization of the date.
The date is one of the seven species for which the land of Israel is renowned, but over generations it disappeared and became extinct. It was reintroduced into the land of Israel at the beginning of the thirties.
Degania was known for her cowshed. Miriam Baratz was the first female dairy worker. It was she who appropriated that work from the men. She went to Holland for further study and upon her return, she labored over the development of a modern dairy farm. For many years, work in the cowshed was the realm of the women.
At the end of the War of Independence there reigned a period of austerity during which the state of Israel needed to produce food. Degania geared herself to this effort with the aid and encouragement of the government and began setting up other agricultural branches.
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Carrying banana bunches - 1940 |
Hay pressing - the 30's |
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