Afek is a kibbutz

Kibbutz

A kibbutz is a collective community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. Today, farming has been partly supplanted by other economic branches, including industrial plants and high-tech enterprises. Kibbutzim began as utopian communities, a combination of socialism and Zionism...

 in northern Israel

Israel

The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

. Located in the Zevulun Valley in the Western Galilee

Galilee

Galilee , is a large region in northern Israel which overlaps with much of the administrative North District of the country. Traditionally divided into Upper Galilee , Lower Galilee , and Western Galilee , extending from Dan to the north, at the base of Mount Hermon, along Mount Lebanon to the...

, near the archaeological

Archaeology

Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...

 site of Tel Afek

Tel Afek

Tel Afek, , also spelled Aphek, is an archaeological site located in the coastal hinterland of the Ein Afek Nature Reserve, east of Kiryat Bialik, Israel....

 and the HaKerayot agglomeration, it falls under the jurisdiction of Mateh Asher

Mateh Asher Regional Council

The Mateh Asher Regional Council is a regional council in the western Galilee of northern Israel. It is named after the Tribe of Asher which had been allotted the region in antiquity according to the Book of Joshua . It was founded in 1982 as a merger of three regional councils: Ga'aton, Na'aman...

. In 2006 it had a population of 426.

History

The kibbutz was originally founded in 1935 as Plugat HaYam .gif", event)' onMouseout='HidePop("35475")' href="/topics/Company_(military_unit)">Company

Company (military unit)

A company is a military unit, typically consisting of 80–225 soldiers and usually commanded by a Captain, Major or Commandant. Most companies are formed of three to five platoons although the exact number may vary by country, unit type, and structure...

) on the dune

Dune

In physical geography, a dune is a hill of sand built by wind. Dunes occur in different forms and sizes, formed by interaction with the wind. Most kinds of dunes are longer on the windward side where the sand is pushed up the dune and have a shorter "slip face" in the lee of the wind...

s near present-day Kiryat Haim

Kiryat Haim

Kiryat Haim is one of the five Krayot suburbs located north of Haifa, Israel. In 2003, Kiryat Haim had a population of 40,000. Kiryat Haim is within the municipal borders of the city of Haifa, and lies on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea.-History:...

, with the goal of getting jobs in the Port of Haifa

Port of Haifa

The Port of Haifa is the largest of Israel's three major international seaports, which include the Port of Ashdod, and the Port of Eilat. It has a natural deep water harbor which operates all year long, and serves both passenger and merchant ships. It is one of the largest ports in the eastern...

. In 1938 the kibbutz was moved to the coast in the area of Acre

Acre, Israel

Acre , is a city in the Western Galilee region of northern Israel at the northern extremity of Haifa Bay. Acre is one of the oldest continuously inhabited sites in the country....

 as a "tower and stockade

Tower and stockade

Tower and stockade was a settlement method used by Zionist settlers in the British Mandate of Palestine during the 1936–39 Arab revolt, when the establishment of new Jewish settlements was restricted by the Mandatory authorities...

" settlement, and was renamed Mishmar HaYam . In 1947 the village moved again to its current location, this time a short distance inland on the same agricultural lands, based on the decision to abandon fishing and concentrate exclusively on agriculture. Its current name is derived from the adjacent Tel Afek

Tel Afek

Tel Afek, , also spelled Aphek, is an archaeological site located in the coastal hinterland of the Ein Afek Nature Reserve, east of Kiryat Bialik, Israel....

, a candidate for one of the biblical Apheks (Joshua 19:30).

Afek has 200 members and over 450 resident. The kibbutz operates a preschool system and primary school that are open to the general public. The kibbutz economy is based on field crops, orchards, dairy farming, poultry farming

Poultry farming

Poultry farming is the raising of domesticated birds such as chickens, turkeys, ducks, and geese, for the purpose of farming meat or eggs for food. According to the Worldwatch Institute, 74 percent of the world's poultry meat, and 68 percent of eggs are produced in ways that are described as...

, and fish farming

Fish farming

Fish farming is the principal form of aquaculture, while other methods may fall under mariculture. Fish farming involves raising fish commercially in tanks or enclosures, usually for food. A facility that releases young fish into the wild for recreational fishing or to supplement a species'...

. It also has three factories: Asiv produces fabrics, Mego medical supplies, and Hinnanit dolls and clothing accessories. Hinnanit also exhibts and sells rugs made from the fabric produced on the kibbutz.