The Story Behind Zamrudah
My name is Yogev, and I founded Zamrudah Farms in 2025 after many years of living with PTSD that developed following a humanitarian mission in Ghana in 2012, where I was part of a search and rescue team through my military service, responding to a site with many casualties and fatalities.
In the years after my service, I traveled and volunteered on organic farms across Europe and the United States. Agricultural work gave me moments of quiet and balance — the connection to the land, to the rhythm of the days and seasons, helped me slowly stabilize. But I couldn't keep up with the expectations of my surrounding.
As time passed, basic daily life became a struggle, let alone holding a job. Sleepless nights and the constant triggers of modern life made it feel impossible. Life felt like a constant battle, and I was fighting just to survive.
“agro-therapy, when done right, creates real change. Creating alongside other veterans… holding a finished product I could be proud of — I began experiencing something I hadn't felt in years: small, steady successes. Starting something and finishing it. Belonging somewhere. In a world where functioning felt nearly impossible, that meant everything.”
It took many years of profound loneliness and shame before I could speak openly about what I was carrying. But when I did, I found I was not alone.
I joined Terra Umma, a wine-making program for veterans, which proved what I had long felt — that agro-therapy, when done right, creates real change. Creating alongside other veterans — harvesting grapes, blending wine, designing the bottle, holding a finished product I could be proud of — I began experiencing something I hadn't felt in years: small, steady successes. Starting something and finishing it. Belonging somewhere. In a world where functioning felt nearly impossible, that meant everything.
That experience gave birth to Zamrudah — connecting veterans with small farms, craft businesses, and community hosts, where they can move through a real process: from idea to creation, from isolation to community, from surviving to living. Veterans don't just build their own projects and products — they support local businesses and farmers, and in doing so, discover something essential: that they are needed, that they are giving back, that they have a purpose.
This work is named in honor of my grandmother, Zamrudah, who was born in Syria into a Jewish family. Her name was later changed to Tovah. Zamrudah means "precious stone."
This nonprofit is built in memory of her life, her values, and her heart — around her table, all were welcome.