September 19, 2010 / 11 Tishrei 5771

The Jewish Agency Ramat Hadassah Youth Village and the Spicy Way have partnered together in an educational and commercial initiative to grow and sell medicinal herbs and spices.

At the Ramat Hadassah Youth Village in Kiyat Tivon there is a unique initiative to grow and sell medicinal herbs and spices. The initiative is part of the village’s enterprise center, whose objective is to impart life skills and tools for running a small business to students who have difficulties in formal educational environments, enabling them to participate in a successful commercial endeavor.

Avi Zithershpieler, owner of Spicy Way and its farm in Beit Lehem Haglilit, located near the youth village, has sponsored the initiative and contributed professional expertise and a professional marketing platform to promote the initiative.

The curriculum is based on a Riedman College program that integrates theoretical studies and practical applications. Amongst the subjects studied are: Introduction to Medicinal Herbs, Medical Uses of Medicinal Herbs, Alternative Medicine, Sales & Marketing, Starting & Managing a Small Business, and more.

As part of the practical application, the students will work in the cultivation of the herbs, designing and making planters, and selling agricultural as well as packaged products.

The students dream of building a unique visitors’ center to sell their products at the village and to win Education Ministry recognition for their course of study as an area of concentration for matriculation.

The Ramat Hadassah Youth Village of the Jewish Agency in Kiryat Tivon is a framework for 7th-12th graders. The village invests most of its resources in the development of the life skills and tools that will enable its students to integrate into Israeli society as full members. The village exists thanks to many people in Israel and abroad who devote their time and money to improving the lives of the youths of the village and giving them the future they deserve.