On Sunday, we accompanied Liora Poker to her final resting place. Liora, who lived a long, full life, was Chubeza’s first partner in Kfar Bin Nun, where our field is located. She was an active, impressive woman—a radio operator in the Palmach, an architect and environmental planner, and later, alongside her late husband Chaim, a pioneer of organic farming in Israel.

Liora and Chaim Poker’s organic field was what brought Chubeza to Kfar Bin Nun. Before we arrived, the field had been organically cultivated for over a decade by Chaim and Liora. However, in the years just prior to our arrival, Chaim's illness had prevented him from working the field, as 2-meter high weeds and thorns soon overtook the plot.

Liora was delighted with the opportunity to partner with Chubeza to continue organically cultivating their plot. When I began the initial fieldwork, Liora and I worked side by side. Together, we removed the weed-covered irrigation pipes and cleared the field.

Our partnership continued throughout the years to come. Liora was Chubeza's first tractor driver, and in the early years, she carried out our soil preparations. In time, our first packing house opened in the packing shed behind Liora's house, where she cleared space for us to fill the vegetable boxes. Several years later, we moved to cultivate other plots. Around 12 years ago, we returned full circle to grow once again in Liora's plot, Chubeza’s very first home.

Liora was an exceptional woman—intelligent, sharp, diligent, stubborn, and honest. We were privileged to bring her Chubeza vegetable and fruit boxes every fortnight, right up until last Monday. This is our opportunity to publicly thank her for welcoming us 22 years ago and carefully guiding Chubeza’s first steps.

Liora passed away with her children at her side, along with her caretaker Elaine. May Liora’s memory be a blessing.