A group of graduates of the Mandel Center for Leadership in the Negev, in their second year of learning about communities, spent a day and a half visiting the southern community of Beer Ora. The visit – an applied studies unit for the group – was devoted to learning and applying community development models. The group is led by Dori Rimon and Rafi Nasi, who hail from different schools of working with communities: Jewish thought and strategic consulting.
Beer Ora is a relatively new community settlement near Eilat. It is home to around 150 families, of which seven are families of graduates of the Mandel Program for Local Leadership in Eilat. The community was founded 15 years ago, and continues to grow and develop, with tens of new families joining every year.
The main purpose of the visit was to get to know the developing community at Beer Ora. Following a tour of the village and meetings with current and past community leaders, the group took time to review and deconstruct their experiences and impressions. Staying overnight at the Beer Ora youth educational facility contributed much to the learning process and to the overall experience.
