מטע של חופש

How do you commemorate Ido's story? How do you express his special fingerprint in the world? Anyone who has lost a loved one is looking for the unique way to preserve memory. A way to have an authentic, genuine and valuable connection. The story of 'Orchard of Freedom' is an extraordinary story connected to Ido's life and roots.

Ido fell during a battle in an olive grove in southern Lebanon. Not many miles away, his grandparents (the Noah family) have been working since 1985 to cultivate a small olive grove on the Yodfat mountain range in the Galilee. Ido loved to get to the orchard and felt connected to it despite being an urban boy ... At the age of 16 he looked lovingly at the place and said to Grandpa 'What a cool place you have, I want it to be mine'.

And now, the place is indeed his ... 'Orchard of Freedom' is a unique commemorative project of its kind in Israel and expresses more than anything who was Ido, his love of nature, people and freedom. An active place that initiates activities of value and meaning, beyond connecting to Ido's personal story.

On Passover 2007, a plan was launched to adapt the place to the new purpose with the help of landscape architects. For about 3 years, every weekend, family, friends and volunteers came and in small steps donated their ability and time to build the place.

During the establishment, his parents Avi and Aviva began to found the Ido Forever organization. It was clear to them that the association would engage in activities that are beyond the perpetuation of Ido's story, and would focus on educational community activities for youth and other communities. Slowly they began to come to the place, cultivate it to help with the maintenance and care of the olive trees, friends of Ido, family members, schoolchildren, pre-military students, soldiers from various units, and various organizations that the plantation story passed by word of mouth and great excitement.

Over time, the visits were organized and crystallized into activities of formation and experience, and work plans for volunteering in the orchard, both by institutional bodies and by individuals who have heard about the place and come to volunteer throughout the year.

'Orchard of Freedom' has become a place from which to emerge differently. The connection to nature, to handiwork, to Ido's story and to the values of his life - together create an experience that is beyond words and memory.

And as Aviva, Ido's mother, describes, I did not want people to come and tell us that we were poor and take pity on us, but slowly my father started the process and I joined. I realized that the concept of ‘commemoration’ must be reinvented for me from a place of continuity. When a person goes down for an hour to the orchard And experiences the work among the trees, he finishes it with a smile. The story of the place passes from one person to another and the place is really active, and most of the time people laugh here "

An 'orchard of freedom' is, as mentioned, more than an orchard for the production of olive oil. The orchard Hosts groups and individuals throughout the year, who are exposed to Ido's special story and take part in a variety of formation and experience activities. The activities express the value of 'togetherness', the importance of working as a community, connection to ecology and nature, the freedom to create change and overcome the difficulty and pleasure and power of manual labor.