Jerusalem (AFP) – Former technology executive Dotan Goshen carefully arranges some melons at the bottom of a crate, followed by courgettes, tomatoes and lettuce.
With a smile of satisfaction, he contemplates his “organic basket” ready to be delivered to a customer.
Goshen, a graduate of Israel’s prestigious Technion technological institute, made a dramatic change of course after his boss called him at home one evening and berated him for not devoting himself sufficiently to his work — even though he was putting in at least 50 hours a week.
The following day, the 37-year-old father of three handed in his resignation and set out to realise his dream of producing organic fruit and vegetables.
He is one of a growing number of Israelis who entered the flourishing high-tech industry at a young age before abandoning high-flying jobs and good salaries for a lifestyle more suited to their ideals.
The phenomenon is not uniquely Israeli.
In many technologically advanced countries, executives are being tempted by adventure, the chance to embrace a simpler, healthier lifestyle and by the “search for self”.
But, in Israel where job mobility is the norm and recruitment tends to be more informal than elsewhere, the desire for change is heightened, said Daniel Barkat, himself a former tech executive who switched to producing vegan chocolate.
Read the full article by Delphine Matthieussent at Yahoo7 News.