Avi relaxing after a hard morning of work.

We are Avi and Tamar Arazuni. We have a family farm, in the Negev desert, about 1 hour south of Beer'Sheva. The working and the living is with the family.

We have four children. If you visit us, you will also meet our dog Blues and our cats. Our home is made from train-cars that we restored ourselves. You will see that it is a very comfortable place and meets all our needs.

Rotem and Tamar making cookies.

Lulu, Avi, and Shachar

The Farm:

This is an image of the entire bustan. The place is so big that it took six images put together to show the whole thing. All of the way on the left are two fields prepared for wheat, and all the way on the right are the greenhouses and vegetable gardens.

Our farm cultivates a wide array of fruit trees, including apple, apricot, guava, lemon, nectarine, olive, orange, pomelo, peach, and pomegranate and moor.

The fields after a flash flood.

We model our agricultural techniques on those of the ancient Nabateans.  Like them, we built and planted our orchards on stone terraces in the valley in order to capture water during the seasonal flash floods. Around the house we also have a large vegetable garden, goats for cheese, and chickens for eggs.

Lulu and a baby goat.

We also keep goats and chickens. The cheese from the goats is very important to us, as we use it daily. We have a dog and cats, too.











Volunteering at the Arazuni family farm:

The work is hard, to be sure. But the rewards are so worth the effort! You may weed, lift rocks, pick fruit, and so much more. You will experience an organic farm at its fullest.

A volunteer tending to the orchard.

Working Hard!

Mixing mud for terrace construction.

Volunteers taking a break from work.

Volunteers Lorrett and Shelby cutting
fruit with Lulu.

We always enjoy having volunteers live and work with us.  In general, volunteers work about seven hours a day, and a day off on Saturday.  The type of work varies with the season, but common activities include planting trees, laying down fertilizer/compost, weeding, constructing stone terraces, or constructing channels that help bring rain-waters into the valley.

Lorrett tending the apples.

The terraces are done and now the orchard is in full swing. There is work on the trees, in the greenhouse, and in the garden.

The volunteers' cabin.

We have a special cabin just for our volunteers, also made from a converted train car.  The cabin can comfortably hold up to three volunteers and includes a bathroom with shower and a kitchenette with refrigerator.  There is a beautiful view of the sunrise from the volunteer cabin's door.

Inside of the volunteers' cabin.

Volunteers are provided with fresh food daily, including our own homemade breads and jam.  Volunteers have a light breakfast before work in their cabin   We are happy to accommodate vegetarian diets..Volunteers are also provided with work clothes, sheets, towels, blankets, and pillows as needed.

We eat outside on Shabbat
or when the weather
is nice.

Great food comes out of the cast iron pots!

Feel free to call if you’re interested in volunteering or with any questions.  We speak Hebrew and English, can host up to three volunteers at a time, and are happy to have you here with us!

Here is how you get to Mitspe Ezuz: take the 044 Bus out of Beer Sheva (it is easy to find on the platform); make sure it is the one that leaves at 1900 hours (7 p.m.) because this is the only one that comes all of the way to Ezuz; and make sure that you tell the bus driver that you are going to Ezuz.

For more information, call us at +972 8-657-3758.

The "A" shows where Mitspe Ezuz is.