(ENVIRO) Israel's Kibbutzim Shift From Red To Green

"As they drift away from socialism, the collectives are launching eco-conscious businesses.

Members of Kibbutz Ketura, a collective farm in Israel's Arava Desert, share meals under the fluorescent lights of a spartan dining hall. The kibbutz's leaders earn the same pay as the laundry folders: nothing, other than occasional dividends and monthly allowances. Anyone who wants a new air-conditioner to make it through the infernal desert summer has to sign up on a waiting list. Yet Ketura's commitment to socialism hasn't stopped it from forming a partnership with German industrial giant Siemens (SI).

Siemens last August paid $15 million for a 40% stake in Arava Power, a company affiliated with the kibbutz that hopes to start generating solar power this year. 'The partnership works well for both sides,' says Eliezer Tokman, chief of Siemens Israel. 'The guys at Arava are the entrepreneurs. They initiate projects and deal with regulation, and we design, build, and maintain the projects.'"