Kalya is also a Hebrew acronym for "קם לתחייה ים המוות" (Kam Litkhiya Yam HaMavet), literally, the Dead Sea has returned to life.

The company, chartered in 1929, set up its first plant on the north shore of the Dead Sea at Kalya and produced potash, or potassium chloride, by solar evaporation of the brine.

[7] Kalya has a population of 300 and depends mainly on agriculture, primarily consisting of dairy farming and raising date palms, watermelons and cherry tomatoes.

The kibbutz also runs the Israel Nature and Parks Authority visitor's centre of the nearby Qumran Caves, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found.

[8] However, Palestinians were regularly barred from reaching any Dead Sea beaches for fear that Arab presence would cause loss of Jewish customers for establishments along the shore.